My Favorite Lasagna

This lasagna recipe has been with us since 1978.
As the story goes…
Grumpy and I were stationed in Okinawa, Japan and I had gone back to Arizona to have R.B. When it was time to return to Okinawa, R.B. was about 6 weeks old. It was the trip from hell. I had three little girls and a newborn to wrestle, the Air Force dependent travel policies to contend with and some major budget concerns. I won't go into the details, but by the time I got back to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa I had been traveling (or trying to) for 2 weeks. I was frustrated, tired, and “on the edge”. Grumpy had moved our things into a nice house in Awase and it was good to finally be somewhere. As we straggled in the door it was nearly dinner time and I wasn't sure what was in the house. Grumpy went in the kitchen and pulled this wonderful lasagna from the oven complete with garlic bread and a salad from the fridge. I was amazed. He said his new commanding officer's wife, Ellen Stellmar had provided the dinner for us. I started crying and I don't think she ever knew how deeply I appreciated her dinner. “Thank you” just didn't cover how nice it was. She was a wonderful woman. I am grateful for all the really great people we rubbed shoulders with in our Air Force experience. Very tender memories of them all. I've used this recipe all these years and it is a family favorite.

The Meat Sauce…
1# Italian Sausage or lean ground beef
1 clv Garlic (minced)
1 lg Onion (diced) (optional)
1 Tb. Basil
1 Tb. Parsley Flakes
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1-1# Can whole tomatoes (cut up)
2-6oz Cans (1 1/3 C.) tomato paste

The Cheese Mixture…

3 Cups Cream Style Cottage Cheese (or Ricotta, or a mix of the two)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
2 Tb. Parsley Flakes
1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cooked Noodles…
10 oz. Lasagna noodles cooked al dente. Rinse in cold water and allow to drain. I always lay the uncooked noodles in the pan I'm using (x2 for 2 layers) to make sure I have enough noodles. I throw in a couple of extra just for fun.

Mozzarella…

1# Mozzarella cheese (grated). Of course more cheese is never bad. I have used the fresh mozzarella sliced on one of the layers and it turned out really well.

Preparing the layers…

Brown meat with minced garlic and (optional) diced onion . Drain off excess fat. Add next five ingredients for the meat sauce and simmer uncovered until sauce is thick stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes). 

Combine the cheese mixture ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and layer:
half the cooked noodles
half the cottage cheese mixture
half the mozzarella cheese
half the meat sauce

Half the noodles, half the cheese mixture:


I used fresh mozzarella in the first cheese layer and it was good. I used regular grated mozzarella on the next cheese layer and it was a good combo. Just ignore the spots of meat sauce. I goofed and got a little meat sauce in before I realized it was the cheese layer. Oooops.


The last layer of meat sauce (good thing, cuz the dish was full)


As an option you can layer some fresh spinach leaves on top of the mozzarella and under the meat sauce. It is really good if you like a little spinach. 

Repeat layers and top with a layer of grated parmesan if desired.



Bake in moderate oven (350º) uncovered for 30-45 minutes.
Let stand 15 minutes to set before serving.

Serves 12

Picture is from our Mama's and Papa's dinner on my blog. I added a spinach layer to it this time and it was really good. A little more watery than usual, don't know if it was from the fresh mozzarella, or the spinach, or both. I didn't mind though as a little juicier is okay with me. (I'm a saucy gal)
Lots of fond memories with this Lasagna recipe. Thanks to a sweet woman who went out of her way to make life a little easier. She left quite an impact on our lives with her lasagna. You just never know…