Typical Meat Lasagna

I originally wanted chicken, but that was vetoed by the wife as we just had it two days ago.  I'll have my chicken dish up later this week!

Lasagna is a dish that can be made very simply or very complicated, depending on how far you want to take it.   A lot of the ingredients can be bought right off the shelf or made in the kitchen.  I opted to go with a little bit of both.  For this dish, there are so many variations and substitutes that can be used whether it be vegetable lasagna, meat lasagna or a combination of both.  So here's the basics in layers:

Some kind of sauce

Pasta

The 'Fill'

Repeat steps 1-3 at least 3x's

Here's what I used:

1. 
   
   1 1b. of a meat combo (beef, veal, pork)
   
   
   
2. 
   
   1 large egg
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Cabot fancy cheese blend
   
   
   
4. 
   
   fresh mozzarella balls
   
   
   
5. 
   
   parmesan cheese
   
   
   
6. 
   
   3 x 4 oz. cans of tomato sauce (they were on sale 3 for $1!)
   
   
   
7. 
   
   fresh pasta sheets
   
   
   
8. 
   
   15 oz container of ricotta cheese
   
   
   
9. 
   
   1 tomato
   
   
   
10. 
    
    Italian spice blend
    
    
    

Hardware

1. large 5 qt pot
2. frying pan
3. large bowl
4. colander
5. Microplane Grater/Zester
6. Spatula
7. 13 x 9 pan 

I was planning on making the pasta because I knew my wife had a Pasta Maker but alas, it was no where to be found, hence the store bought pasta.  To start, put the pasta in boiling water for about for about 3 1/2 mintes.  Drain well and pat dry.

A trick I learned is to add some olive oil into the pasta water while cooking.  This prevents it from sticking when you're draining it.  Brown the meat in the frying pan until all the redness is gone.

Mix the ricotta cheese, some of the fresh mozzarella, cheese blend, egg, spices and grate the parmesan with the wonderful Microplane Grater/Zester.  I love this simple tool and it makes nice and lite fluffy cheese.  Check it out, it's amazing.

Dice the tomato and mix with the tomato sauce.  Put a thin layer of tomato sauce and spices, then cover with the pasta.

Add the meat, cheese mixture and spices and cover with another layer of sauce.

Repeat until you run out of ingredients or you reach the top of the pan (in this case, 3 cans sauce = 3 layers).  At the top layer, sprinkle the extra cheese to make a nice topping.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes @ 375 degrees.  Remove and let it cool before serving. 

This is an excellent make ahead dish and tastes great reheated.  Enjoy!