Ever since I can remember, my family tradition was to eat Pork and Sauerkraut on New Year’s Day. It was said to bring good luck in the new year. And once I was married, I carried on the tradition for 13 years. After the year I have had, I thought it might be time to revisit my tradition for culinary luck in the new year. This year, I decided to try something new- to select something I like to cook and love to eat. I chose lasagna. I used a basic recipe and added some modifications. I’m not sure it will bring good luck, but I certainly enjoyed eating it!
Gathering the ingredients
The basic recipe
Browning the onions and ground beef
Boiling the noodles
Trying out a new liner to help with the clean-up
Layering the noodles
Followed by the ricotta and cheeses
Ready for the oven
Fully baked
Packaged individually for the freezer
Cheers and Happiness in 2014!
Recipe:
- 16 pieces of lasagna noodles
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce (I used Newman’s Own Sockarooni)
- 4 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Italian blend cheese
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (I used shredded, so I just eyeballed it)
- Spicy Italian seasoning (*if desired- adds a bit of punch)
- Reynolds Wrap pan liner (*if desired- it worked well!)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute chopped onion until clear. Brown the beef. Add spaghetti sauce and heat through. Line 9 x 13 pan with Reynolds Wrap pan liner if desired. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture in bottom of pan. Top with 4 pieces of lasagna, overlapping the edges. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese and mozzarella/Italian cheeses over pasta. Sprinkle with Spicy Italian Seasoning. Cover with 1/4 of sauce mixture. Repeat layers twice, beginning and ending with the pasta. Spread the remaining 1/4 sauce mixture on top of pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a final dash of the Spicy Italian Seasoning. Cover with foil. Back 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 8 – 10 servings.
Flirting with Creativity 