Thursday, October 23, 2008

Elsie's Lasagna

My mother-in-law is an amazing woman.  This is her recipe for lasagna that I have adjusted to suit our family's tastes.   

Life always takes some adjusting as we've always known, but now, as we enjoy grandchildren and deal with the realities of aging parents it seems like ever bigger adjustments are needed.  
How truly wonderful it is to be able to rely on God's all-sufficiency when things that need adjusting seem just too big.  He is so faithful to give all that is needed in every situation, no matter if it is motivation to wash the dishes or wisdom to make decisions for parents who no longer seem able to make decisions.  

Here's the recipe.   Soon I will post the fabulous bread that goes so very well with this!

Elsie’s Lasagna
Makes two pans of lasagna . (I use foil casserole pans that are about 13x9, but deeper than a cake pan.

1-3 lbs ground beef (I use one)
1c. chopped onions
2 cloves minced garlic
1 32 oz. can tomato puree
1 quart water
3 tablspoons parsley
(3 tablespoons sugar)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons oregano

Brown ground beef. Saute onions and garlic until tender. Add other sauce ingredients and simmer uncovered for one hour.

2 lbs. Cottage cheese (Ricotta will work)
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ pounds grated mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
(2 teaspoons salt)
2 teaspoons oregano

Mix filling ingredients well.

Bring a large pot of water and about a tablespoon of oil to a boil. Boil lasagna noodles and then chill with cold water. Leave the in water so they do not stick together. Usualy I don’t add oil to water for pasta, but this is one time it is needed.

Put some sauce in the bottom of the lasagna pan. Layer noodles, cheese and more sauce in three or four layers. End with noodles, top with a little more sauce and additional Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45- 60 minutes.

This dish freezes well and it is just as much trouble to make 4 pans of lasagna as it is to make two

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