Recipe: Appetizing Lasagna Casserole

Lasagna Casserole.

You can have Lasagna Casserole using 21 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Lasagna Casserole

1. You need 16 oz of uncooked pasta, shape is your choice. I use elbow mac, rotini, or penne. If you can find mini lasagna noodles go for it, bow tie works good too.
2. It's 2 cups of or so Mozzarella cheese for topping.
3. You need of Sauce.
4. It's 2 lbs of ground meat, personally we like 1/2 beef and 1/2 venison. You could use pork, turkey, sausage, whatever.
5. It's 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, if your meat lacks fat.
6. Prepare 1/2 of large onion, diced.
7. You need 3-4 cloves of minced garlic.
8. It's to taste of Salt and pepper.
9. Prepare 1 tbsp of dried basil, oregano, and parsley.
10. Prepare 44 oz of jar of pasta sauce, and a little water to rinse out the jar.
11. You need 6 oz of can of tomato paste (optional for more intense tomato flavor).
12. You need 1 tbsp of cooking sherry.
13. Prepare 1-2 tbsp of red wine vinegar (cuts the sweetness).
14. Prepare Pinch of sugar to bring flavors together.
15. It's of Cheese filling layer.
16. Prepare 24 oz of cottage cheese or ricotta (full fat tastes best).
17. Prepare 2 of eggs.
18. You need 2 tbsp of parsley.
19. It's 1/2 tsp of pepper (use slightly more if coarse ground).
20. Prepare 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.
21. You need 8 oz of shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Lasagna Casserole step by step

1. Bring large pot of water to boil, salt water and cook noodles to al dente. Drain and set aside..
2. Brown meat, and as meat is getting close to done add in onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until onions are getting translucent, and add herbs (oregano, parsley, and basil). Then add pasta sauce and tomato paste if using. Stir well together, add the vinegar and sherry. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, add the sugar, then let simmer together for an hour. Watch bottom of pan that it doesn't scorch..
3. Heat oven to 375. Put your cheese and two eggs into a bowl, beat together until smooth (important for if you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, helps smooth out out. Cottage cheese also spreads easier during assembly). Stir in pepper, parsley, and parmesan. Finally mix in Mozzarella cheese..
4. Once all your components are assembled, spray a 11x16 casserole pan with cooking spray. You will assemble starting with 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/2 of cheese mixture. Repeat the layers, and end with last third of noodles topped with sauce. Finally spread 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese over top of the casserole..
5. Cover with foil, bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes, if you want the cheese on top browned and slightly more crispy put under the broiler for a hot minute. Allow to cool for 10 minutes to set up before dishing up. Feed to hungry children and husband!.