Homemade Lasagna

I LOVE Lasagna and so does my family. It is so good, all of that cheese seductively oozing through the thin layers of pasta and homemade tomato sauce, OMG, it is just so delicious!!

If you have never made Homemade Lasagna before, do not fret, it is much, much easier than you think, and you don't need a whole day to make it either. You don't even have to cook the noodles, or even buy special "no cook" noodles. Just buy plain old lasagna noodles. Just give yourself, at least 2 hours before you plan to serve, so that you can make and properly cook it, and most importantly let the flavors marinate together. That is why leftover lasagna is so spectacular the next day because it was enabled to meld the flavors overnight.

Well, here we go, let's get making our Lasagna.

Homemade Cheese Lasagna Recipe

Feeds 6-8

1 - package of lasagna noodles (uncooked)

2- 16 oz containers part skim ricotta

2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
2 eggs (beaten slightly)
2 tablespoon parsley (divided)
Salt and pepper to taste
5 cups of tomato sauce ( I use homemade, but you can use your favorite type)

In a large bowl, add the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the eggs, 1 tablespoon parsley & salt & pepper, mix well. Set aside the remaining mozzarella ,Parmesan cheese & parsley.

Lightly grease a 13x9x2 pan with a little vegetable or olive oil, then add 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to the pan and spread it evenly in the bottom of the pan. Then take 3 whole uncooked lasagna noodles & put them over the sauce in a single layer starting from the middle of the pan. (Please note that the noodles will cook and expand during cooking, so they will not touch the edges of the pan at this time - this is normal).

Now, take about 1/3 of the cheese mixture and top the layer of noodles. Cover the cheese layer thoroughly with about 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce. Repeat the layers 2 more times starting with the noodles, then cheese, then sauce. For the final layer, just add noodles over the sauce, then add the remaining tomato sauce to cover the noodles well.

Cover with foil tightly and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. Then remove from oven and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses , place back into oven uncovered for about 10 minutes. Remove and top with remaining parsley.Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread for a delightful dinner. You can also add meat to the sauce, if you'd like; but my family prefers cheese lasagna, and they like me to make homemade meatballs or Italian sausage on the side.

I hope you enjoy making and eating this lasagna. Mangia!!