Mama Miche’s Lasagna
Introduction
The ultimate comfort food. It is an entire meal in one tray of yummy goodness. All the food groups are represented and necessary to make one feel fabulously full and satisfied. It’s actually also quite easy to make and assemble. There are shortcuts you can make without skimping on flavor. And there are so many variations in ingredients that you can use. You can substitute traditional lasagna noodles with sliced zucchini, or squash, or any number of traditional noodle substitutions A creamy white vegetable lasagna or a chicken Alfredo lasagna are a couple of different options we can explain another time in another video but in this video the old school lasagna that most of us know and love is the star.
The main ingredients here are a very very thick meat sauce and a mixture of at least 3 to 4 cheeses and the noodle. Now that we have no cook noodles (even gluten-free for people like me who try to not eat too much of the gluten because it does cause inflammation) lasagna is even easier to make.
My Momster always told me that she thought I was a better cook than she was. It was the ultimate complement because she could make anything, and she took pride in feeding the tribe of friends and family that would be at our table all the time.
My first “serious “relationship as a teenager was with an Italian boy, who, of course, like all Italian boys, thought his mom hung the moon & was the best cook in the world. No one could come close to her lasagna, except my Mom. He said he could never say it was better than his mom’s so he said they were both the best he’d ever had.
I have no idea how good his mother’s lasagna was because she hated me and I was invited to dine with the family only once in our three plus year relationship. That time was an Easter meal that happened to occur the same day I met one of my half brothers for the first time and I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t tell you what was served. There may have been lasagna.
She had her reasons to despise me… not only was I not Catholic, I was Jewish, and she was convinced I seduced her innocent boy. Her boy was not innocent, for the record. I was!
Eh yo, I’m like Jessica Rabbit o’er here. I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way. We need a little comfort after all that agida, don’t we?
Have some lasagna!
Tools
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Large measuring cup
Measuring spoon
9” x13” baking dish or foil tray
Ingredients
Makes approx. 12 servings
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 1/2 cup shredded parmigiana reggiano
32 oz ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp - Twice Stolen Spice™
2-3 tbsp water*
1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles
2 quarts of meat sauce**
1 lb buffalo mozzarella
Directions
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hours or longer (to taste)
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350º
Step 2
Combine shredded cheeses and eggs into a mixing bowl. Mix in egg thoroughly. Add container of ricotta cheese. Add 2 tbsp Twice Stolen Spice™. and continue mixing until all ingredients are evenly mixed and has a consistent texture.
Step 3
Place baking dish on a baking sheet. Start building the lasagna by placing 1-2 tablespoons of water* and a large spoonful of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of noodles across the pan (about 4 or 5). Add a thin layer of the meat sauce across the layer of noodles. Add a layer of the cheese mixture. Add a thick layer of meat sauce. Repeat this process as many times as needed to fill the pan or tray.
Step 4
Top off the stack with a final layer of noodles. Add 1-2 tablespoons and another large spoonful of meat sauce and pread evenly across the top. Finish off by sprinkling 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup shredded parmigiana reggiano over the top. Add sliced buffalo mozzarella evenly across the top. Sprinkle 1-2 tbsp of Twice Stolen Spice™ over all the cheeses.
Step 5
Cover with foil and place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese is golden brown. Remove and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Cut, serve and enjoy!
Notes:
*This recipe uses no-boil Lasagna noodles (I like the no-boil, and they do have them gluten-free). If you use traditional noodles, omit the water.
**Meat sauce 2 quarts or 2 jars of store-bought sauce. Add Twice Stolen Spice™ to give it that MMMK zest. If you want meat lasagna and you don’t use my recipe for meat sauce, sauté ground protein of your choice and Italian sausage out of the casing and add sauce. You can always cook your meats and add to a store bought sauce but honestly, it’s so easy to make this & freeze my meat sauce. You can use it for more than lasagna. It’s silly not to make it yourself. At least once, to see how easy it really is. Not to brag or anything, but The Twice Stolen™ spice makes it even easier. So, check out the recipe too.
