Cooking: Meaty Lasagna

In my BBQ chili post, I mentioned that I had spent that weekend making three good-to-freeze meals. Boy am I glad I did! I got back from an awesome adventure vacation this weekend (blog post to come) and just was not in the mood to cook this weekend (shocking!). This week, I have dipped into my reserves in order to avoid having to eat out for a second week in a row to supplement what cooking I have been able to do mid-week. This is the second of the three meals I made: A delicious meaty lasagna!

Since I was trying to make three big meals in one weekend, simple was the name of the game. This recipe is also really cheap per serving, which I also appreciate. And what I saved in money and time, I did not sacrifice in flavor! Last night as I was stuck late at work, I was extremely grateful to have such a delicious home cooked meal while everyone else was eating their unhealthy take out food (especially after a week of indulging on all things huckleberry!). 

Let's get cooking!

Makes 9 servings.

Ingredients:

Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, diced

1 lb lean ground beef

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano tomatoes are supposedly the best but I went for Costco style)

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt (might be more or less depending on preference so add a little, cook, and then taste after the sauce has simmered and add more if desired)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Layers

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 375. Heat a large part of water to a boil, and cook the lasagna noodles for 4-5 minutes so that they are still undercooked. Drain and set aside (make sure to lay apart so the noodles don't stick together).

To prepare the sauce, begin by heating a saucepan over medium high heat.

The above is a picture of a shallot, which is one of my all time favorite ingredients. I usually find it by the garlic/ginger at the grocery store. This is basically an oddly shaped mini-onion (and you dice it the same way), but its flavor is a mix of garlic/onion. More bang for your buck! If you can't find a shallot, you can substitute onion/garlic instead.

Dice the shallot. As I noted in my chili post, a simple way to dice it is to cut strips in the shallot perpendicular to the stub, and then turn and cut across (parallel to the stub). Because a shallot is layered, this will result in nice diced pieces (after you use your fingers or a spatula to break them apart).

Add the oil and shallot to the pain and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the ground beef, break it apart with a wooden spoon or spatula, and brown the beef.

Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer (low heat until just barely bubbling) for at least 10 minutes.

Add 1/4 of the meat mixture to the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Top with 3 of the lasagna noodles.

Top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese, followed by 1/4 of the meat mixture and 1/3 of each of the mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese (in that order).

Repeat the layers. After the last noodles have been added, top directly w/ meat sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan (no ricotta).The lasagna will ultimately be composed of the following layers:

1) 1/4 Meat mixture

2) 3 lasagna noodles

3) 1/2 ricotta

4) 1/4 Meat mixture 

5) 1/3 Mozzarella and 1/3 Parmesan 

6) 3 lasagna noodles

7) 1/2 ricotta

8) 1/4 meat mixture

9) 1/3 Mozzarella and 1/3 Parmesan

9) 3 lasagna noodles

10) 1/4 meat mixture

11) 1/3 Mozzarella and 1/3 Parmesan

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20-30 minutes, until the lasagna is bubbly and hot in the center. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!