Monster Lasagna [Homemade]

Fill a bit pot with salted water, set to boil.

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a good sized pan brown 3 lbs ground beef (used to also use sausage but half the kids “don’t love it”).

Salt and pepper the beef.

When it’s almost lost all it’s pink, sprinkle with thyme, rosemary, sweet basil, a little dill, maybe some oregano (whatever Italian spices you like-I usually like fresh basil, but this time used dry). Let brown until no more pink remains, but don’t cook it hard. You want it to finish cooking and stew up in the lasagna.

Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon into a bowl.

In the fat that has rendered from the meat (if it’s too much remove some fat), sauté one big-ass onion or two medium. Vidalia onions are my preference. Once soft and slightly translucent, add at least five but usually closer to ten cloves of garlic minced or grated with a hand fine grater (like this. Sauté for a minute or two more making sure to move the garlic around/mix throughout onions.

Add meat back to the pan and combine with onions and garlic.

Add and mix into the meat one 6oz can tomato paste. Toss a little balsamic vinegar in as well…a couple swishes, whatever feels good. Once mixed in, add 32 ounces tomato sauce (no salt added). Open a can of stewed tomatoes (I like Hunts) and pour just the juice into the meat/sauce mixture. Then chop the stew tomatoes until they are small and add to pan.

The sauce is done.

Add at least 13 lasagna noodles to the boiled water and set timer for them.

In a large bowl add 32 ounces of ricotta cheese. Mix it up a bit so it’s not big blocks. Lightly beat two eggs-throw em in the ricotta bowl. Sprinkle a teaspoon (or a tad more) of salt over it. Chop up super fine a lot of parsley (half a cup?)-in the ricotta bowl. Add 1.5 cups (?? Or whatever feels right to you?) mozzarella cheese. I usually also add some shredded Parmesan. Mix this all up (well mixed).

The ricotta mixture is done.

Your noodles are done. Blast em with cold water to stop cooking, put aside.

Lightly grease your casserole dish, especially the sides toward the top.

Layer your ingredients: layer of sauce, three noodles, ⅓ of the ricotta mix, layer of sauce, three noodles, ⅓ of the ricotta, sauce, noodles, remaining ⅓ of ricotta, sauce noodles and then the rest of the sauce on top of that last layer of noodles.

Place casserole on a foil covered small metal pan. Cover casserole with foil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove from oven, remove foil, top with a shit ton of mozzarella cheese-2 to 2.5 cups? Whatever feels right. Also about ¼ to ½ shredded Parmesan cheese.

Throw back in the oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes.

Put on the broiler and broil for 1 to 2 minutes (WATCH IT! Don’t come this far only to burn it!)

Let set for 15 minutes. Serve.

Sincerely hope I didn’t miss anything haha…lasagna is just a vehicle for flavors…it’s like a solid Italian stew. If you have a favorite flavor, throw it in. Try it. Let it stew and make all together with the other flavors and see what happens.

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