Molly's Lasagna
Lasagna is a beloved dish in our household! This is a recipe that I came up with that is simple and easy, but full of delicious flavor. Without fail, every person I've made this lasagna for has fallen in love with it. To get the most out of this dish, I highly recommend using fresh garlic and grating your own cheese. I've experimented with both boiling noodles and using oven-ready noodles. I prefer the oven-ready because they seem to retain their texture better. I typically don't like cottage cheese, but when melted in the lasagna you can't even tell it's there! The cottage cheese adds just enough moisture and flavor, helping you avoid that dreadful dry texture that sometimes comes with using ricotta. I hope this recipe brings you the same joy around the dinner table that it has brought to our family and friends!
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb. ground beef
- 4 garlic cloves, grated on a micro plain
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
- 40 oz. traditional pasta sauce
- 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
- 8 oz. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 24 oz. small curd cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
- 15 sheets oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- olive oil for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a large lasagna pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef and garlic over medium heat. Drain excess grease and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Add the pasta sauce and 1 tablespoon of butter to the meat mixture. Heat on medium-low until the butter is melted. If desired, finish by stirring in a touch of olive oil.
- Drizzle a little bit of the sauce in your pan and arrange 5 lasagna noodles on top, slightly overlapping if needed. Spread a layer of the meat mixture over the noodles, followed by spoonfuls of cottage cheese, and then a generous sprinkle of the shredded cheeses.
- Repeat for 2nd layer. For the third and final layer, add the remaining meat/sauce mixture and top with shredded cheese (no cottage cheese on this layer). Sprinkle the top with a little Italian seasoning.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let the lasagna set/cool for 15 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
- I prefer to use the kind of pasta sauce that comes in a can. Occasionally, I mix traditional and 4-cheese flavors.
- Make sure to freshly grate your own cheese (instead of using the pre-shredded kind), it makes all the difference!
- If you prefer, you can substitute venison for the ground beef. Since venison is very lean, drizzle the pan with olive oil before browning it—there’s no need to drain the grease.
