1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 chopped white onion (1 tablespoon onion powder & 1/4 cup water)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
29 ounces petite diced tomatoes
12 ounces tomato paste
12 dry lasagna noodles
2 beaten eggs
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt.
Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake in the preheated oven, 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
From:
I covered and baked for 30 minutes, then uncovered and baked for 10 more minutes. It was too long. I will try covering and just doing the 30 minutes next time.
Petite diced tomatoes might be better than regular.
Might try onion powder instead of onion next time, not liking the texture.
The petite diced tomatoes definitely made a difference, but I can’t decide about the onion powder vs the onion. For one, I only added 2 teaspoons of onion powder when it should have been 1 tablespoon. I was too lazy to get the food processor out to do the onions, so I thought the onion powder might work, but I think real onion might be worth it, and just doing it in the food processor, so there aren’t big chunks. I think there’s something about the beef cooking with the onion that makes it better.
Made with Our Family no-boil noodles and the package said to add 1/2 cup water for every 5 noodles. I used 12 noodles, so I would have had to use almost 1 1/4 cup water. I didn’t read this until the lasagna was assembled. We ended up deciding on adding 1/2 cup water before baking it. It seemed to work ok, but in the future I think the answer is to make the sauce “saucier” with some water and leaving it at that. I’m not convinced that the 1 1/4 cup is necessary, but the noodles were a touch on the al dente side.
I had assembled it the night before and put in the fridge, then just baked it last night. Coming from the fridge to the oven, it took more like 45 minutes at 375F before it was done. I left it covered the entire time.