Passport & Plate - The Only Thing I Can Cook Lasagna
USA | Friday, February 28, 2014 | 2 photos
Ingredients
1-2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 regular sized cans of Italian stewed tomatoes
1 regular size can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
1 lb of grated mozzarella cheese
1 lb of low-fat, small curd cottage cheese
1 egg
Lots of garlic, cilantro and Italian spices, black pepper, parmesan cheese
2 Tbls. sunflower oil
6 wide lasagna noodles
How to prepare this recipeHeat oil in deep pan and add ground beef. Sprinkle in garlic and spices and simmer meat until it is browned.
Add tomato sauce, paste and stewed tomatoes. Simmer and stir every once in a while. If you have a bottle of good red wine open, pour a 1/2 cup in the sauce and pour yourself a glass.
In large pot boil 6 lasagna noodles (if you have a dog, cook an extra noodle for him)
In cottage cheese container add the raw egg and mix well. Sprinkle black pepper into mixture (about 1/4 teas.)
In lasagna pan put 1/4 cup of the juice from the meat mixture in the bottom of the pan.
Layer 1: 1/2 of noodles on the bottom, then 1/2 of meat mixture, then 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 lb. of grated mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
Layer 2: same as layer #1
Bake until the cheese on top is starting to brown and bubble.
Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.
Serve...then wait to hear your guests tell you how fantastic it is...and what a good cook you are!
The story behind this recipeMy mother was a fabulous cook. I am not! One time I even failed to get Jello to gel. But this one recipe has carried me from my first apartment on my own, to elegant dinner parties and has never failed me nor has it ever failed to impress my guests.
Now my own daughters are grown and two of the three girls cook like my mother did. The third has my disability, but she has learned how to cook this recipe and can fool the most discerning company at her table.
There is a casualness about the effort put into making the recipe and like the Italian cooking, it is done with heart and wine, and not necessarily a measuring cup.
