Lasagna for a Busy (or Lazy) Day

My family loves lasagna. Cheesy, gooey, tomatoey lasagna with multiple layers.

This is a recipe I've made for years. It looks nothing like the original recipe someone gave me almost thirty years ago, but a good recipe grows and changes with time and use.

A gratuitous view of the Badlands from Mt. Rushmore never gets old :)

One thing I love about this recipe is that you don't have to pre-cook the lasagna noodles! And this recipe is from back in the days before no-cook lasagna noodles were invented :)

Another thing I love about it is that you can put it together and bake it right away, or you can refrigerate it or freeze it until you're ready to bake it. Perfect for Seekerville's upcoming Speedbo (their own version of NaNoWriMo - you can read about it here) or for any time when there's too much to do in a day.

You can even split it into two, put half the recipe in each of two 9 x 9 baking dishes, freeze one and have the other one tonight.

And if you don't have the right ingredients on hand? Use what you have! Once you have the basics - lasagna noodles, cheese, tomato sauce - you're good to go.

Lazy Day Lasagna

ingredients:

Layer one:
1 pound mild or sweet Italian sausage, browned and drained
36 oz. (give or take) jarred spaghetti sauce (about 1 1/2 - 24 oz. jars)

Layer two:
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups cottage cheese - not low fat
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese - not the powdered stuff
1/3 c. chopped parsley or 3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
2 teaspoons dried minced onion

Layer three:
16 oz. block mozzarella cheese, sliced

Layer four:
12 uncooked lasagna noodles

Final touch:
1/4 cup water

For the first layer, reserve 1/3 cup sauce, and then mix the cooked sausage and the rest of the spaghetti sauce in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

For the second layer, lightly beat 2 eggs, then mix in the rest of the layer two ingredients.

Set that one aside, too.

Your cheese is sliced and your box of lasagna noodles is open, right? We're ready to assemble the lasagna.

First, spread the 1/3 cup reserved sauce on the bottom of a greased 9" x 13" baking dish.

Layer three uncooked lasagna noodles, then 1/4 of the meat sauce, then 1/4 of the cheese mixture, then 1/2 of the sliced cheese.

Repeat these four layers - noodles, meat sauce, cheese mixture, sliced cheese.

Add another layer of noodles and cheese mixture, then noodles and meat mixture. Top with an additional 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Pour the final touch - 1/4 cup water - around the edges of the baking dish.

Cover tightly with foil.

At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze the lasagna, or you can bake it right away.

Bake, covered, at 375° for one hour. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until the top is starting to brown. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it rest at least 10 minutes - while you make a salad and toast some garlic bread.

Alas, I don't have a picture after it came out of the oven. We had a carry-in dinner at church last night, and the lasagna disappeared before I remembered to snap a picture.

This time of year, when the snow and cold linger and spring seems far away, comfort food like lasagna seems to be a necessity. What is your favorite comfort food?