Last night we decided to to pull out lasagne from the freezer. Not a slow cooker meal, but still one of the meals that we prepared in our marathon batch cooking weekend extraordinaire. Friday's are a pretty relaxed in our house. No carting kids around, and the kids get off school early. This was a great day to have lasagne, relax, catch up on conversation and watch a little telly.
This is good served up with a little garlic bread and salad of your choice. This is by far one of my families favourite meals. In fact when I asked for ratings, my husband and daughter said FIVE stars. Well........ I would not let them give it five stars because my 'from scratch' is definitely better! I allowed them to rate at 4.9! Guess I will need to make a from scratch one to remind them of the differences. This recipe is a very simple lasagne recipe for the purpose of getting something in the freezer quickly and into our bellies. Leftovers are yummy the next day for lunch too. I would give this recipe 4.5 stars, simply because I do like my own better, and I am not a huge fan of express noodles. I do not find them to be the same texture as the ones you boil. The sauce is good and who does not like the cheesy goodness that is lasagne? My son rated it at 4 stars, I think because it is not pizza or burgers. Also, it has the tiniest chopped up onions in it, which he is not a fan. * le sigh* Oh well!
As stated in the recipe, I add a few more spices. I did not add spinach as I do not think that I would get my son to even try it. I however, really like it with spinach.
Over all family rating: 4.6 out of 5. Not too shabby!
Kimberley’s - Simple Lasagne For Batch Cooking
Makes 2 large lasagnes - deep 9-13 foil trays.
This is just a basic recipe; add
any additional seasoning that you may like. I add in about a tablespoon each of
basil, oregano and garlic powder.
2 boxes Catelli Express® Lasagne Noodles
4-5 pounds lean ground beef
2 large onions, finely chopped
6 cups pasta sauce (something thick)
4 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
1 thawed package of chopped spinach (the frozen brick) (optional)
2 eggs
6-8 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
1.
Brown beef with over medium
heat. Add any seasoning that you like in a tomato beef pasta sauce. Stir in
pasta sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, stir ricotta or cottage cheese with eggs and 2 cups of
shredded cheese. (I add salt and pepper
to taste – you can also add a thawed package of spinach if you like it)
3.
Cover bottom of pan with a
layer of sauce. Layer sauce with noodles. Layer noodles with sauce. Layer with
noodles. Layer with half the cheese mixture. Layer with noodles. Layer with
sauce. Layer with half of the remaining shredded cheese.
4.
If cooking one right away, bake
for 1 hour at 350 degree F. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover
if the cheese is getting too dark.
5.
If you are just going to freeze
both lasagne’s you can do this right away. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap,
and then foil wrap over top. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, bake
from frozen for 2 hours at 350 degrees F or 1.5 hours thawed.
Enjoy!
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