Make Ahead Lasagna Recipe with Cottage Cheese & Secret Veggies

• Produce

  • 2 cups Carrots
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 6 oz Mushrooms, fresh
  • 2 Onions, large
  • 1 tsp Parsley, dried
  • 3 28 ounce cans Tomatoes

• Refrigerated

  • 4 Eggs

• Canned Goods

  • 1/2 6 ounce can Tomato paste

• Pasta & Grains

  • 1 1/2 12 ounce boxes Lasagna

• Baking & Spices

  • 4 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Salt

• Dairy

  • 16 oz Mozzarella
  • 2 16 ounce containers Nancy's cultured cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup Parmigiano reggiano

• Deli

  • 3 lbs Hamburger, lean

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 1 cup Red wine

Found on simplifylivelove.com

Description

Ingredients

• 3 lbs lean hamburger
• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups carrots, finely diced or grated if you need to hide it from picky eaters
• 6 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped in minuscule (unrecognizable) pieces if you have picky eaters
• 3 - 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine (optional)
• 4 TBS Italian seasoning
• 1 TBS salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 16 ounces shredded mozzarella (2 - 8 ounce bricks)
• 2 - 16 ounce containers Nancys Cultured Cottage Cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 1/2 - 12 ounce boxes of lasagna
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

• Over medium heat, brown all of the hamburger. My meat is really lean so I always cook the veggies along with it as it browns. If your hamburger is not as lean, you may want to saute the veggies separately from the meat so you can drain off any fat before adding the sauteed veggies.
• When the meat has finished cooking, add the tomatoes, wine, and seasonings. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.
• After the sauce has simmered for at least an hour, taste the sauce and add any additional seasoning you may need.
• Continue simmering for at least another hour, if you have time, longer if you want.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, and parsley. You can skip the eggs if you want, but they help bind the cheese and keep it from oozing out all over your pasta when you serve it.
• Spread 2 cups sauce over the bottom of two 9x13 oven & freezer safe dishes. Add 2 cups cheese mixture, then cover with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles, depending on the size of noodles that you use. No need to cook the noodles ahead of time, even if they say no boil. Theres enough sauce in this recipe that they cook up just fine.
• Repeat until you have added four layers of noodles and end with 2 final cups of sauce. Then finish with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, more if youd like. More cheese is always good, right?
• Bake lasagna uncovered for 40 minutes. Then let rest 10 minutes before cutting.
• Do not bake the second lasagna. Instead cover it with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze. To prepare it, remove from freezer and let thaw. Then bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Or, if you dont have time to thaw it ahead of time, you can bake it from a frozen state, but it will take at least an additional 30 minutes to bake.
• You should also have a sufficient amount of prepared sauce left over as well. Place it in a freezer safe container and freeze it too.