10lb Lasagna

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!

With my generous gift from Tre Stelle, I was off to get some cheese! 
Did I say 'some' cheese? I meant to say 'lots' of cheese!
Read my Tre Stelle story HERE.
The Following is the story of the 10lb lasagna and how it came to be.
(Feel free to print it out and read it to the kids at night)

Here are the ingredients.

Brown 1.5 lbs-2 lbs of ground beef with onion.

Once browned, add your tomatoes,
tomato paste, water, sugar and seasonings.

The biggest TIP I can share here is to now let it simmer uncovered for an hour. The water evaporates, the flavours party together to create an incredible sauce that won't leave your noodles swimming in tomato juice.
See how it has thickened right up.

While it simmers away and makes your home smell like 
Nonna has been cooking in your kitchen for days.
(Nope, I'm not Italian)
Let's work on the cheese mixture.

In my opinion, Tre Stelle makes the best ricotta out there and I prefer using the extra smooth.
I find some people *cough *cough *kids, 
don't like seeing the little ricotta pieces - weirdos.

Mix ricotta, parmesan and egg together until smooth.

I put a scoop of sauce on the bottom of the pan.

I like the bottom 'sealed' so I use 3.5 lasagna noodles,
 I know - I'm strange but I find it all holds together better.

Then more meat sauce - 2 scoops.

Add mozzarella

more noodles and more meat sauce.

Then I add half of the ricotta cheese mixture to this layer, why I don't just add a scoop of meat sauce to the cheese mixture before spreading is beyond me. I prefer to do it the hard way. 

More noodles

Spread remaining cheese mixture over noodles.

Yummy

Yet another layer of lasagna, Nonna would be proud!
Oh yeah, I keep forgetting I don't have a Nonna because I'm not italian.

Is it bad for an adult to pretend they were Giada De Laurentis
 the entire time they were preparing this?

Speaking to everyone in a bad Italian accent and looking nothing like her. I had my hair in a pony, wearing yoga pants & a T shirt.

Mangia, mangia!

Poi ho aggiunto più mozzerarella.

(Thanks google translator, now back to reality)
Then you add more mozzarella.

One last noodle layer and remaining meat sauce mixture.

Now you're ready for the oven, 30 minutes at 350 

Hmmmm.....  seems kinda heavy, let's weigh it.
Yup, 10lbs alright!

After cooking for 30 minutes, remove from oven, add remaining cheese and continue cooking until browned and bubbly to your liking.

Look at those crunchy little edges.

10 lb Lasagna

Ingredients
1.5 - 2 lbs of lean ground beef           1 chopped onion
2 (6 ounce cans) of tomato paste      1 egg
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning      1 box of lasagna noodles
1/2 cup of Tre Stelle grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tablespoon of sugar (don't omit this, it cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)
1.5 cup of Tre Stelle Extra Smooth Ricotta cheese
1 (14.5 ounce) can of rushed or seasoned diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of gound black pepper.
2 cups of water
1 pound or more of Tre Stelle Mozzarella Cheese, shredded.

Directions
1. Cook ground beef and onions until browned. Add tomato paste, canned tomatoes, water, garlic, italian seasoning, sugar and pepper. bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour.
2. While sauce is simmering mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and the egg until smooth - set aside until ready to use.
3. Bring water to a boil and cook as directed on package.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 while assembling the lasagna or when ready to bake.   You can assemble and keep for 2 days prior to baking.
5. Assemble as follows:
   a) sauce on bottom of dish
   b) cover with 3.5 noodles
   c) spread 2 scoops of meat sauce over noodles cover w/ 1/3 of shredded cheese
   d) another layer of 3 noodles, 1 scoop meat sauce & 1/2 ricotta mixture
   e) another layer of noodles, top with remaining ricotta mixture.
   f) another layer of noodles, top with meat sauce and mozzarella
   g) final layer of noodles and remaining meat sauce.
6. bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, remove and add remaining shredded mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes or so until bubbly and golden brown.                               Enjoy!



Printable recipe below.

                  Buon Appetito