Lasagna is one of the dishes that I am known for making. It’s not going to win any awards for authenticity but to be honest with you, it’s really good and I would rather have tasty food than authentic food, so I never worry too much about it.  It’s not the

K’s Lasagna

3/4 to 1 pound ground beef (you can get by with less meat in this if you want)
1 jar pasta sauce. traditionally, Ragu, but it doesn’t matter. Or, make your own.
lots of shredded mozarella cheese
1 box lasagna noodles
cottage cheese
1 can mushrooms (“optional”)

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, put beef in a saucepan and cover with the sauce. Add mushrooms, unless you are cooking for someone who won’t eat mushrooms. ;) It’s the one ingredient that I try to keep in mind , since I know lots of mushroom-picky people. Cook until meat is done–keep it covered unless you like having pasta sauce splashed all over your stove, walls, floor and shirt. Don’t brown the meat first because that would be so, so wrong.

When everything is cooked, it’s time to start assembling. In a 9×13 pan, put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom, along with a bit of cottage cheese. That’s just to keep it from sticking so I don’t go too crazy on the bottom layer. Put a layer of noodles in the pan. If you’re lucky, they’ll fit perfectly, but otherwise, just piece it together. After this, layer meat – cottage cheese – mozarella cheese and repeat until you fill the pan or run out of ingredients. Each layer should be pretty thin, but you can go wild on the top with the cheese. I let M assemble it once and we had a cheese lasagna with a touch of sauce and noodles, and while it was GOOD, it is probably not what you’re looking for in a lasagna. Bake in a 350 degree oven until done. (My husband hates it when I say that.) It’ll take somewhere around half an hour, but it will look melty and bubbly when it’s done.

I make it like this because this is the way my mommy told me to do it the first time I called her to ask, after I got married. Recently, we had a discussion about how to make it and she started talking about the egg that you mix in with the cottage cheese. She did not mention an egg to me when she told me how to make this, so I never add it. Also, the cottage cheese is not gross. You can’t tell that it’s in there, except it makes it much less dry, and gives it a better texture, than it would be if you left it out. I suppose than an actual Italian recipe would use ricotta instead.

Enjoy! If you don’t run out of time because of a screaming baby, serve with garlic bread, baked with a bit of cheese if you’re fancy, and a salad. If you run out of time, no one will say anything about the lack of side dishes because they’re really not that necessary, and if they do, then make them do the dishes for being so ungrateful. :)