Homemade Lasagna
For Sauce:
1 large carrot or ten baby carrots finely chopped
2 stalks celery finely chopped
1 small or 1/2 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 T. butter
5 basil leaves, chopped
1 T. chopped oregano
1 t. salt
1 lb. Ground beef
1 28 oz. Can Tomato puree (you’ll use about 3/4 of it)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1-cup beef stock
In a heavy skillet melt butter and cook bacon until almost crisp. Add
carrots, celery, onion
and garlic. Cook over medium heat until carrots begin to soften. Add oregano,
basil and salt.
Cook until all vegetables are soft. Remove from pan. Add beef and cook until
brown. Return
vegetable mixture to pan. Add tomato puree (put leftover sauce in a plastic
resealable bag and
freeze it), dry red wine and enough beef stock to slightly thin the sauce.
Cook over low heat
for 1/2 hour. This sauce can be made ahead of time.
For Lasagna:
1 6 oz. Container low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Meat sauce – reserve 1/4 cup for topping
1 pkg. No boil lasagna noodles
Spray 9" x 9" deep baking dish with cooking spray. Put 1/2-cup
sauce in bottom of pan.
Put layer of lasagna on top. Spread 1/3 of ricotta and 1/3 of Parmesan on
noodles. Add another
1/2 cup of meat sauce. Repeat with noodles then cheese then sauce. You should
have 3 or 4 layers.
For Topping:
This is what will set your lasagna apart from anyone elses!!
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
2 cups milk
1/2 t. chicken bullion granules
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2-cup Parmesan cheese
Reserved meat sauce
Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add flour and cook over medium heat for 2
minutes –
stir constantly. Add milk and stir until sauce begins to thicken. Add bullion,
nutmeg, cheese
and reserved meat sauce. Pour mixture on top of prepared lasagna. You can
prepare the
lasagna up to this point and then refrigerate it until later in the day or
overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover lasagna lightly with foil. Bake for 30
minutes. Remove
foil and continue to bake for approximately 15 minutes or until it is bubbly and
starting to
brown slightly on top. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before
cutting and serving.