Lasagna

This is the best lasagna recipe I've ever made. Technically, it's the only lasagna I've ever made, but when you find something that works, why look anywhere else? It's delicious and easy (as easy as lasagna gets, and we won't even mention certain frozen brands). You don't have to boil the noodles beforehand, and don't even bother with the no-boil lasagna noodles. They don't taste as good, and they're unnecessary. My first roommate in college, Jacqie, made this as one of our first meals together. She used to sing "Sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, cheese, (repeat), sauce, cheese." I know it sounds silly, but I still sing that every time I make it. This was also the first meal I made for my husband when we started dating. When I asked him how it was, he told me, "I'm choking it down." Honestly, he's lucky he got another date. Or meal. But, enough background, let's get to it!

(Since the sauce has a tomato base, it's great for hiding vegetable purees, or mix some fresh spinach into the cottage cheese.)

(Last thing, I promise! I'm not a big fan of cottage cheese--and by that I mean I wouldn't touch it unless my life depended on it, and even then it would be a struggle. But it really works in this recipe as a milder alternative to ricotta.)

Printable Recipe

Lasagna

Prep. Time: 30 mins    Bake Time: 1 hour

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (28 oz.) spaghetti sauce
8 oz. pkg. lasagna noodles
1 container (16 oz.) cottage cheese
1 egg
3-4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef in large skillet: drain. Add spaghetti sauce.

Stir egg into cottage cheese.

In a 13x9-inch baking dish, place a thin layer of sauce, followed by a layer of lasagna noodles.

Spread half of the cottage cheese over the noodles, making sure to cover the noodles completely.

Then layer with 1/3 of the mozzarella.

Repeat layers.

Place remaining sauce on top.

Bake at 350 for 45 mins.

Add remaining mozzarella and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Makes 9-12 servings.

Serve with: Salad, Garlic Bread

Italian Pasta Bake

We make this pasta bake at least once a month because: a) it's that good, b) it's super easy, and c) the ingredients are things I usually have on hand. I like to keep them around for when I get that last minute phone call asking me to take a meal to someone since it's very portable and they can actually do the final baking on their own, so it's ready whenever they are. I found it years ago (although I can't remember where), and it's become a staple. This is another one that's great for adding extra vegetables with purees, since it has a tomato sauce base. Technically, the original recipe said to use either sausage or ground beef, but we tried it with the ground beef, and in my opinion, it was only so-so, whereas the sausage kicks it up a notch. I was tempted to just take out the ground beef and not give you an option, but I relented. Do what you want, but you know what I would say!

Printable Recipe

Italian Pasta Bake

1 lb. Italian sausage or ground beef

1 box mostaccioli or penne

1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown meat in large skillet; drain.

While meat is browning, cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Stir in meat, spaghetti sauce and 1/2 Parmesan cheese. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish.

Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Serve with: Salad or Green Beans, Garlic Bread


I've also made this one ahead of time as a freezer meal, and it came out pretty well. I don't know if you can keep it frozen for a long time and still have the noodles turn out okay, but it worked when I made it a couple weeks later.

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Delicious way to make an all-in-one meal. Spaghetti? Good! Garlic Bread? Good? Together? Good!!! I went ahead and made a normal size batch of spaghetti because I was having a hard time figuring out how much to make. Since I was going to have leftover sauce anyway, I might as well have extra noodles to go with it. It made enough for two loaves, if I'd thawed out another loaf of dough. If you have a large family, you might want to make two anyways. I also mixed in a couple vegetable purees (cauliflower and carrots, or you could do sweet potato or squash) into the sauce.

Printable Recipe

Braided Spaghetti Bread
from Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Blog

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temp. (2 to 3 hours)                

6 oz spaghetti, cooked 

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (I add ground beef to mine)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes      

1 egg white
Parmesan cheese
Parsley flakes
Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Roll loaf or combined dinner rolls into a 12x16-inch rectangle on a Silpat or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly. Mix spaghetti with sauce.

Remove wrap from dough. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of dough. Top with cheese cubes.

Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on long sides of dough to within ½-inch of filling.

Begin braid by folding the strips on one end toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.

Transfer bread to baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, parsley, and garlic powder.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.

Makes 9 slices

Serve with: Salad