Homemade Lasagna

While I was searching through the HubPages list of suggestions for hubs, I seen this one for Lasagna and could not pass it up. So I decided to add my recipe to the mix. Every year, I make a special dinner for the people in my life for their birthday. AND every year this is something my brother always request I make for him. By making this dish for my brother, I also found out that my husband is a huge fan of lasagna!

I personally do not consider Lasagna to be one of my favorite dishes. I will eat a small amount when I make it for my brother or my husband, but if they did not request it I probably would not eat it.

I will not be adding salt to my recipe because of all the hidden sodium that is already in the foods, but if you want to add salt you can. There was a time I would add a little sea salt but not anymore since I became a "label reader".

WhiteOak's Lasagna

Sauce:

2-cans crushed organic tomatoes (pureed)

1-teaspoon of each:

oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of red peppers

Place on stove and simmer on low.

Meat:

Spray a frying pan with a light coat of Olive Oil spray and cook 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

(optional:) you can add a couple of Italian sausages taken out of the casting if you would like and cook with the lean ground beef. Just remember if you do that, you will be creating more grease and most likely will have to drain the meat before adding it to the sauce. Season the meat with oregano, parsley and garlic. After it is cooked add to the sauce and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Cheese Mix

In a mixing bowl, mix together:

1 container of small curd cottage cheese

1 container of Ricotta Cheese

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon of dried basil

(Optional) I personally like adding baby spinach to the lasagna but everyone usually complains about it. It is really good though, just chop up some fresh baby spinach and mix it in with the cheese mixture.

Spray a 9 x 13 oblong pan with Olive Oil and put two ladles of sauce in the bottom of the pan and add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. Spread another scoop or two of sauce over pasta, add some of the cottage cheese mixture, sprinkle with Mozzarella and Parmesan Romano cheeses and add another layer of noodles. Continue to do this making layers until your pan is filled. When you get to the top layer-lay some noodles and sauce only. Cover with foil and place the pan on a large cookie sheet. Cook at 375 degrees for 55 minutes or until noodles are tender.

When the noodles are tender and cooked the way you like them, remove the foil and cover the top with more Mozzarella and Parmesan Romano cheeses and cook another 10 minutes. Take out of oven and let it set for at least 10 minutes before you cut it. Garnish the top with fresh basil leaves if you have them, if not sprinkle some dried basil over the top.

Note:  When you are making Italian food, usually there is always going to be different cheeses and tomatoes involved-Basil enhances the favor for both cheese and tomatoes.

(Easy) Garlic Bread

A loaf of Italian Bread Sliced in half

Spread with butter

sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan Cheese

Bake at 350 degrees until it is the way you like it.

Homemade Garlic Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup of wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1 tablespoon of honey

1/8 cup canola oil

1 package yeast

1 1/4 cups of warm water

Use a hand mixer and blend together the water, sugar, salt, oil, honey, yeast and one cup of flour. Slowly add the remaining flour and mix together. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour. Lightly dust your surface with flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Lightly spray a bowl with a nonstick cooking spray and put the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a towel and let it rise for one hour.

After an hour, knead 10 more minutes and divide the dough into two pieces. Shape into a log and spray a cookie sheet or french bread pan with cooking spray. Place dough into sprayed pan, cover with plastic and a towel and let it rise for another hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Lightly spray the top of the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, rosemary and parsley. Lightly place a piece of foil over the bread and bake for another five minutes.

Please Note: you want to cook the bread until it is light golden brown, leaving the herbs off until the last few minutes of cook time so the herbs do not burn.

Take out of the oven and cover with a dampened cloth.  This helps the bread crust to stay soft.  DO NOT CUT THE BREAD UNTIL IT HAS COOLED because if you cut it before, you will have a dough ball! 

Slice to the thickness you want, butter and serve.