Italian Sausage & Spinach Lasagna 1 lbs bulk Italian sausage Lasagna Noodles, oven ready or regular 1 package frozen spinach, thawed 16 oz Ricotta Cheese 1/2 tsp sweet basil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 egg, slightly beaten 2 pints tomato sauce (homemade or jarred) 2 Cups shredded Five Cheese Italian Mix 2 Cups shredded Mozzarella Brown sausage in pan, when cooked place on paper-towel to drain/blot off any grease. Add ground sausage to bowl with tomato sauce (reserve 1/2 cup of plain sauce for assembly). Place slightly beaten egg, ricotta and well-drained, cooked spinach with spices into a separate bowl and mix well. Use a 9x13 baking dish. Place the reserved 1/2 Cup plain tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish, add your first layer of noodles. Spread on 1/3 the ricotta mixture, then 1/4 of the meat and sauce mixture sprinkle with cheese. *Repeat this process two more times. ending with a layer of meat sauce and final sprinkle of cheese. Cover dish with foil and Bake in Preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes. Once cheese is all melted and lasagna cooked through - oven off and let the lasagna sit in the oven for 10 mins before serving. Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
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I grew up with this in my parents house being known as lasagna. My Mom made this and I always loved it. I don't know if it was the pan she cooked it on or her magical oven that gave it such flavor but, I can never recreate the taste! A savory blend of meats and cheeses are encased in wonderful fluffy crescent dough. I would guess that she ran across this recipe way back when and got it from one of her many cookbooks or the newspaper. All the same, it was my personal favorite and I requested it when asked what I'd want for my "birthday dinner." I'm sure this recipe can be modified all the way around to suite your own tastes! like using ground turkey with low-fat cheese and adding other cooked vegetables or a chicken divan type creation. Have fun, create your own - enjoy! Diane
Phyllis's Lasagna Ingredients: Meat Filling: 1 1/2 lbs ground beef 3/4 cup chopped onion 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 small can tomato paste 1 tsp parsley 1/2 tsp basil 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp salt dash of pepper Cheese Filling: 1 pack (2cups) of mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 cup cream style cottage cheese or 1 cup ricotta *your choice 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 egg 2 tubes of crescent rolls Meat Mixture: Brown meat, drain off fat. add chopped onion, stir until tender. add all herbs & spices listed under Meat Filling. Stir in tomato paste. let everything cook for 20 mins uncovered. While that is cooking, place first tube of crescent rolls on cookie sheet (as for pie crust, pinch seems together) Cheese Mixture: Beat egg, add to cottage cheese & parmesan cheese. Place first roll of dough down on a large baking sheet - add meat mixture in the middle. Alternate meat mixture and cottage (or ricotta) cheese mixture. Then sprinkle mozzarella cheese. Once all the filling is down, place the second roll of dough down over the filling and pinch any holes in seams and pull up sides of crescent roll dough to form one large bread loaf. Bake at 325 for 45 mins to an Hour (check to make sure it doesn't get too brown) serves: 4-6 Recipe Adapted by: Phyllis C Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home There are times that my lasagnas are created by what I have in the house. This one I opted to use spinach and roasted red peppers and turned out perfectly amazing! You can make this with or without adding Italian sausage. I don't mind 'oven ready noodles' when I am in a time crunch but, if you have the time - freshly cooked noodles are thicker and to me, always taste better - Enjoy! Diane
Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach Lasagna with Italian Sausage 1 pound Bulk Italian Sausage, optional 1 Large Vidalia Onion, sliced 2 cloves Garlic, chopped fine 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella 16 oz Ricotta Cheese 1-2 Cups Parm/Reggiano Cheese, shredded 1 tsp Fresh Basil, chopped fine 1-2 large jars of your favorite Marinara 1 small jar of Roasted Red Peppers 1 package of Chopped Spinach Olive oil, to coat baking pan/s 1 Box of Lasagna Noodles (cook according to pkg) OR 1 Box of Lasagna 'Oven Ready Noodles' Heat oven 375. (Serves 4-6) Makes two 8x8 or one 9x13 Place Italian sausage and onions into skillet and crumble/cook until meat is no longer pink add chopped garlic into pan & stir the last few minutes so garlic does not scorch. Microwave spinach, strain out any liquid and set aside for assembly. You will be making 3 layers.
Let stand 5-10 before cutting into and serving. Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home I love when people make homemade lasagna because it always seems like such hard work, smells so good and tastes SO great! All that layering and getting everything to fit so nice, creating a taste explosion. As a tribute to the great lasagna makers out there - I give you - the lasagna "roll-ups." These are faster and easier to make. I made this recipe using ricotta, parsley and a mix of cheeses. My next adventure will be adding thinly sliced cooked carrot with some nice cooked spinach rolled in with the ricotta and maybe sweet basil strewn across the top with still the awesome gooey mozzarella cheese. The best part? If you have a picky eater at home, you can add or leave out anything they don't want in "their" roll ups. Enjoy ~ Diane Meatless Lasagna Roll Ups Ingredients: 1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce, divided *more sauce if preferred 1 (2-pound) container ricotta cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided 1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a 6 cheese blend with Parmesan in it) 3 eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 teaspoon salt 12 to 14 lasagna noodles, prepared according to package directions Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil (I use a paper towel just to smear around inside and on bottom of dish) Pour half the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan mix cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, beaten eggs, parsley, and salt until well blended. Spoon cheese mixture over lasagna noodles, distributing evenly, and roll up. Place roll-ups seam-side down in prepared baking dish; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until heated through. Recipe Adapted from: Mr Food Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home |