Tasty Tuesday - Lasagna

I love cooking almost as much as I love books and gaming. One of my claims to cooking fame is my lasagna, a family recipe handed down from my mom, tweaked by my dad, and now tweaked by me. It's such a huge hit that I made it for my partner's family get-together here at our place Christmas of 2011. The recipe makes a pretty good-sized dish (9x11) and it never, ever lasts very long at our house.

Myc's Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 16oz box of lasagna noodles

1.5 lbs of ground beef

1 15oz container of ricotta cheese

1 16oz container of cottage cheese

1 8oz package of mozzarella cheese

1 6oz can of tomato paste (preferably Italian)

1 14.5oz can of stewed tomatoes (Italian seasoned)

1 pkg of provolone cheese slices

oregano

garlic salt

minced onion

Directions:

Brown and drain meat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste. Do NOT drain tomatoes. Add about half a cup of water if needed, just until the mixture is slightly thin. Simmer mixture until tomatoes are tender. Season as desired with oregano, garlic salt, and minced onion. Boil lasagna noodles until tender. Let cool on a plate. Build the lasagna in layers, using the following order in a 9 x 13-inch glass or metal baking pan:

Layer 1:

4 cooled noodles, meat mixture, thin layer of ricotta cheese.

Layer 2:

4 cooled noodles, meat mixture, thin layer of cottage cheese.

Layer 3:

4 cooled noodles, meat mixture, sprinkled shredded mozz. cheese.

Layer 4:

4 cooled noodles, sprinkled mozz. cheese, 8 slices of provolone covering as much of the top as possible.

Bake for 30-45 mins (or until provolone is browning but not burnt on edges) at 400 degrees.

*If you run out of noodles, combine Layers 3 and 4.