#42 Lasagna

Now the big moment is here....an almost completely homemade pan of lasagna..

Lasagna

12 oz. ground beef
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 quart jar of cooked-down tomatoes (I will blog my canned tomatoes this summer)
1 Tsp. italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. sugar
Homemade pasta dough
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
Homemade ricotta
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese- grated
Homemade fresh mozarella- sliced
Grated parmesan

1. First make your ricotta.....the process is here!

2. Next make your mozarella...the process is here!

3. Next make your sauce....brown the ground beef along with the onion and garlic. Add in your one quart of home-canned tomatoes, sauce and paste. Add the italian seasoning and sugar. Stir together well over heat and then set aside.

 

4. Next make your filling...stir together homemade ricotta, beaten {backyard} egg, 1/4 cup of parmesan and parsley. And set aside.



5. Make your pasta dough...that is here!

6. Lay your fresh pasta directly in the 9x13 lasagna pan, but before you do, spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. I like to use a glass Pyrex.

*I did not spread the layer of sauce down before that first layer of fresh pasta and I regretted that later.

7. Next spread half of the ricotta filling over the pasta.

8. Follow that will half of the meat sauce and then half of the sliced mozzarella.

9. Repeat with layer of pasta, ricotta filling, sauce then mozarella. And finish with a sprinkling of parmesan.

10. Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Here it is.....sure looks yummy!

And serve with a piece of garlic toast made with homemade bread!

So what is the verdict...was it the best lasagna I have ever eaten?????...Well no, not exactly. I was disappointed. The bottom layer of pasta was dry and tasted more like a flour crust. The second layer of pasta tasted much more like a noodle, so I think it would have been much better if I added that layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Which is why I added that step in the directions. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty tasty otherwise. Will I be making homemade, homemade, lasagna again? Not until I get a pasta roller! Because homemade pasta really needs to be thinned to a thickness that is hard to achieve with a rolling pin.