Lasagna on an icy day!

My great-grandmother was Cherokee Indian so.... with my mothers dark eyes, dark hair and her ability to cook "out of this world" Italian food, well....most people thought she was Italian. My mother was definetly a prankster, all of this added on top of her witt, humor and the way she could talk with an Italian accent....yes, I'm-a  sure-a  you can  imagine-a  some-a  her-a  prank-a-s!
Today was so cold. It got down to 18 degrees. BURRR! We still had some ice on the road so I stayed home and cooked lasagna. Hot lasagna on an icy day. Yummy!



Violet's Lasagna

Lasagna Sauce / Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients -

1 pound Ground Beef 1 large Onion, chopped 1 clove Garlic, minced 2 (1 pound) cans Tomatoes, chopped 1 (8 ounces) can Tomato Sauce 1 (12 ounces) can Tomato Paste 2 tablespoons Parsley 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano Leaves 2 teaspoon Dried Basil Leaves 1 Bay leaf 1 - 2 teaspoon Salt (to your taste) 1/4 teaspoon Pepper Box of Lasagna noodles Ricotta Cheeses Motzarella Cheese

Preparation:

1. Break up ground beef with fork. 2. Add ground beef to pot with onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, beef broth, fresh parsley, brown sugar, dried oregano, dried basil, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. 3. Cover and cook on LOW for 2-4 hours. Mom's Secret - "The longer you cook the sauce, the better!"

Putting it together...

1 Cook lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. I add Tbsp of salt to the water so the noodles are more flavorful. Drain in colander and place in a cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together.
2 In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese . Apply second layer of noodles, topping again with sauce and cheese. Finish with another layer of noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.
Note - Flavor improves for second service and may be reheated in convention or microwave.

Never store anything with a tomatoe base with aluminum foil or in an aluminum pan.