I Can Cook That

learning the ins and outs of cooking and baking, one recipe at a time

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
    • Ingredients
      • 10 Ingredient Meals
      • 5 Ingredient Meals
      • Beef
      • Lamb
      • Pasta
      • Pork
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
    • Meals
      • Appetizer
      • Beverages
      • Breakfast
      • Cocktails
      • Dessert
        • Ice Cream
      • Game Day Eats
      • Main Dish
      • Party App
      • Salad
      • Sandwich
      • Sides
      • Snacks
      • Soups/Stews
    • Specifics
      • Air Fryer
      • Canning
      • Juicer
      • Freezable
      • Make Ahead
      • On the Grill
      • One Pot Meals
      • Pressure Cooker
      • Quick
      • Sheet Pan Meals
      • Slow Cooker
      • Sous Vide
      • Weeknight Meal
    • Dietary Concerns
      • Dairy Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Meatless
      • Nut Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • whole30
    • Geographic Inspiration
      • Asia
        • East Asia
          • Japan
        • South Asia
        • Southeast Asia
      • Africa
        • East Africa
        • North Africa
        • South Africa
        • West Africa
      • Caribbean
      • Europe
        • England
        • France
        • Germany
        • Greece
        • Ireland
        • Italy
        • Poland
        • Portugal
        • Spain
        • Sweden
      • South America
        • Latin America
      • Middle East
      • North America
      • Pacific Islands
        • Hawaiian
    • Other
      • Gifts
      • Giveaway
      • Guest Post
      • Review
      • Roundup
      • Stitch Fix
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Me
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Work with Me
You are here: Home / Beef / Lasagna

April 4, 2011 By Kaitlin 1 Comment

Lasagna

Lasagna. It seems like such a simple dish that will result in many freezable meals (9 to be exact). Always looking for a way to have already-prepared lunch or dinner options, I decided this weekend was the time to conquer the classic Italian food. I mean, how much work can layering different ingredients be?
Three hours later, I ended up with this:
Not too shabby. Just a long process!
Ingredients for Lasagna: 
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature 
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe below) 
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese 
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente 
1 package (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 cups shredded mozzarella 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can pureed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon each of dried: thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley

The tomato sauce takes a good hour itself, so start this before anything else. While making the sauce, leave the milk on the counter so it can reach room temperature. Also leave out the frozen spinach to thaw.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and the rest of the spices (bay leaves through parsley). Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and remove pot from heat.
Feel free to use just some store-bought sauce. I personally can’t do it. Who told all the sauce companies that sugar should be a main ingredient?  Gross. So yeah, the 25% of me that is Italian absolutely cannot handle sauce out of a jar. I digress…

Next, to make the béchamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in another pot. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.

um. “smooth”? yeah, I don’t know what happened
Gradually add in milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat. Make sure the heat isn’t up too high; you don’t want the milk to burn! Stir until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.
it should coat the back of a wooden spoon, like this
Remove from heat and add to tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
While the sauce is cooling, cook the lasagna according to the package directions.  Lay lasagna pieces out individually on a tin foil so that they don’t stick together.
In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Break up large clumps to make sure all parts of the meat are browned, until there is no more pink meat. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To assemble (in a lasagna pan):
line bottom with lasagna sheets
add 1/3 of bechamel sauce
add all of the ricotta mixture
add all of the spinach
another layer of pasta sheets
add all of the meat
add half of the mozzarella cheese (1 bag)
add another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce
one last layer of pasta sheets
add the last of the bechamel sauce
top with remaining mozzarella cheese
add Parmesan cheese and thin slices of 2 tbsp of butter
To cook, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the lasagna pan on top, cover with tin foil and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.
woo! finally done!
Allow to cool if you plan on putting into individual containers (as I did). I find it hard to believe that something with this much cheese, pasta, and sauce could honestly taste bad. But seeing how much not-so-good-for-you things went into this, I think I’d sub in some “less” bad ingredients next time (skim milk, partially skim cheese, low fat ricotta, ground turkey).

Although this was quite the task, I think it was totally worth it. I’ve already had this for lunch one day this week and have plenty more stored away in my freezer for future meals. Yum.

so. many. meals.

Related posts:

Freezer Friendly Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells Baked Ziti Slow Cooker Short Rib RaguSlow Cooker Short Rib Ragu Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Filed Under: Beef, Freezable, Main Dish, Make Ahead, Pasta Tagged With: Beef, Freezable, Ground Beef, Italian, Lasagna, Make Ahead, Mozzarella, Pasta, Ricotta, Spinach, Tomato Sauce

Comments

  1. E$ says

    April 6, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    Shallots bring a new dimension to the traditional red sauce. I like to add about 1 large shallot with my garlic. I also use some sherry/balsamic vinegar and about a 1/2 cup of red wine to add some depth/complexity to the tomato sauce. Also try using imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes– they are limited in production and have a sweet flavor. Really makes a different in the sauce!

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Get Social

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search

Follow on Bloglovin

Recent Posts

Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream
Grapefruit Miso Butter Chicken
Homemade Strawberry Basil Ice Cream
Salmon Ceviche
Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream
Honey Glazed Orange Ginger Shrimp
Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Irish Apple Cake with Whiskey Cream Sauce
Homemade Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream

Popular Dishes






timheinmusic.com

Categories

Search

BrandBacker Member

Archives

© 2025 · Recipe Pro Theme By WP Chic

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 I Can Cook That - Designed by Pumpkin Beans

Go to mobile version