Best Cathys Lasagna Recipes

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Put pasta water on to boil Put a large pot of salted water (1 Tbsp salt for every 2 quarts of water) on the stovetop on high heat. It can take a while for a large pot of water to come to a boil (this will be your pasta water), so prepare the sauce in the next steps while the water is heating.
• Heat the oven to 375°F
• Bake Cover the lasagna pan with aluminum foil, tented slightly so it doesn't touch the noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Uncover in the last 10 minutes if you'd like more of a crusty top or edges.

SUPER CHEESY HOMETOWN LASAGNA

Steps:

• For the meat sauce: In a stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the beef (do not brown first), tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic salt, bay leaves and onion. Add 2 cups water. Mix until combined. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the vinegar and simmer for another 30 minutes.
• For the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, basil, parsley, garlic salt, red pepper flakes, if using, and egg and stir until well blended.
• Spread 2 cups meat sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place 4 noodles over the sauce-it is okay if they overlap slightly. Dollop 2/3 cup of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, then spread it in an even layer. Top the ricotta with 4 slices ham, then 4 slices provolone. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over the provolone. Repeat the layering-sauce, noodles, ricotta, ham, provolone, mozzarella-twice more. Top with another layer of noodles, then the Parmesan and the remaining mozzarella.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake until the dish is bubbling and the noodles are cooked (you can test by poking with a sharp knife to make sure the noodles are soft), about 50 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown, another 10 to 15 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm.

CATHY'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in large pot. Remove fat. Add garlic, onion, and green pepper.
• Cook noodles to desired tenderness, or as package directs; drain.
• When meat is browned and vegetables are tender, add sauce. Heat and mix thoroughly.
• In small bowl mix ricotta cheese, eggs, and salt; set aside.
• Cover bottom of lasagna pan with thin coating of sauce. Layer with noodles, thin layer of ricotta cheese mixture, meat sauce, and mixture of cheeses. Keep layering till all ingredients are used. Top with parmesan.
• Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown bacon and onion in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in fennel seed, 1 teaspoon oregano, Italian seasoning, and tomato sauce. Cover, and simmer on low for 4 to 6 hours, or until thick.
• Brown sausage links in a large skillet. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Mix together ricotta cheese, egg, milk, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
• Layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Layer with 1/3 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 sausage pieces, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone cheese. Top with 1/3 sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 1/3 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over the top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours.