The Perfect Lasagna

I love to make lasagna. Always have. I used to have people ask me for my recipe when we were in college. I had people pay me to make lasagna and invite them over! My college boyfriend gave me a large lasagna pan for my birthday. That's how good it was!

Over the years I stopped making it. John doesn't like it, and it's a LOT of trouble for one person! I tried making it when the older kids were little and into Garfield, but they didn't like it either. So we went years without lasagna! My friend Michelle would call me periodically asking for my recipe, and I gave it to her. Very simple - use the recipe on the box. Add chopped up green olives to the sauce. That was it!

Somehow, sometime, the kids tasted a lasagna they liked. They started asking me for it. Now I'm trying to perfect it again. They don't care for the olives so I haven't tried that on them. I'm finding that for me, lasagna is like meatloaf. I throw it together and don't use a recipe. When it comes out really perfect you slap your forehead and say D'OH! I should have written that one down!

I should note that I tried a recipe recently that was almost a complete failure. It was Crockpot Lasagna. Sounds just weird enough to be good, right? Sounds like it would be much easier? Well, it wasn't. I followed the recipe exactly, but the noodles were gummy. It tasted OK if you could overlook the texture of the noodles. And it was exactly as much work as regular lasagna, which is the main drawback of fixing it. If I'm going to do the work, I'll just bake it as usual, thanks.

One other note is that I NEVER. EVER. boil the noodles. Mom read that in Heloise years ago. Heloise said to pour an extra cup of water over the top, but that is not needed. Just put them down and make sure there is a layer of sauce over the last layer of noodles. I noticed in the store that some brands are now proclaiming "now no need to boil!" Took them long enough, because there has NEVER been a need!

So here is what I did tonight. I will probably never follow this, but I want to write it down in case anyone ever asks. I think tonight's was about as close to perfect as I've ever made. The noodles were perfectly al dente and everything was exactly as it should be. MMMm yum yum!!!!

Sauce:

2 pounds ground meat
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Cook and drain. Add:

2 quarts of spaghetti sauce
1 large can crushed or chopped tomatoes
1 T Italian seasoning
1 t salt
1 t garlic salt

Mix well and simmer for about 45 min.

Cheese mixture:

1-1/2 large cartons of small curd cottage cheese (24 oz each)
3 eggs, beaten
2 T parsley flakes
1/2 parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Mix well.

In a large lasagna pan (not sure the measurements. It's larger than a 9x13), layer as follows:

Thin layer of sauce
Dry noodles, broken as needed to fill the pan
Cheese mixture
Thick layer of sauce
Noodles
Cheese
Noodles
The rest of the sauce

I know that is out of pattern, but it's how I do it to end up with 3 layers of noodles. The noodle layers with just cheese in between is quite good.

This completely fills up the pan so I set it on a baking sheet. IT WILL OVERFLOW a little bit and you don't want that on your oven floor.

DO NOT top with cheese just yet unless you like it burned.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Top with 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and return to the oven for 15 minutes more. The cheese will be slightly browned and really gooey. YOu really don't want to cook it any longer than this.

Remove from the oven and let it sit for at LEAST 15 minutes. The longer the better, really. The sooner you cut it, the soupier it will be.

If not for the kids I would have added about 1/2 cup of chopped green olives to the meat mixture, and about a tsp of something spicy.

HEAVEN!!!!

Italian Cream Cake

This is one of my favorites from my childhood. My Grandmother used to make it. When she had moved in with us, as her Alzheimers advanced, it was probably the last thing she ever cooked (and fortunately, we caught her leaving the sugar out in time to fix it!)

Although I inherited her cookbooks, I could not find her recipe. I had to turn to Google to get one. I figure it must be someone's Grandmother's recipe, right? At any rate, it tastes just the way I remember it. :)

I love to make it for Easter. I've done this off and on for years. I don't know why - maybe the coconut (which one year I dyed green and scattered on the outside)? For many years my parents were the only ones to help me eat it. Husband doesn't like coconut. Half the kids do and half don't. That is still plenty of coconut-likers, though!

The frosting would be amazing on carrot cake, too! I like to leave just a tiny bit in the bowl to eat with a spoon. Yum!

I've made it both ways, and it just seems to turn out fluffier with the use of cake flour.

I take the lazy way and use a single pan. I don't know what size but it's bigger than the 9x13 - I call it my lasagna pan. It holds the 3 layers worth just fine Add about 5 minutes more oven time.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs, separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup flaked coconut

Preparation

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla, beating until blended.

Combine flour and soda; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in coconut.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into batter. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation

Bake chopped pecans in a shallow baking pan at 350°, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Cool.

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended.

Beefy Tacos

My sister-in-law posted this the other day and I had to try it. I made a triple recipe, due to the size of my crew. I had ground turkey and pork so I used that instead of beef (so they weren't all that "beefy" I guess! LOL!). Everyone loved it, even the one that was initially not sure about the beans. It was the perfect meal to serve on our busiest weeknight. It made great leftovers, too! Definitely a keeper. 

1 pound lean ground meat (beef, pork or turkey, or a mix) 

1 onion, finely chopped 

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans 

1 jar (16 ounces) salsa 

1 cup shredded cheddar 

 12 small tortillas 

garnishes: whatever you typically like on your tacos (sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions, jalapenos, etc) 

 In a large skillet over medium-high heat, stir beef and onion until brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Drain excess oils and transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in beans, salsa, and cheddar. Cover and let simmer until mixture is cooked through and bubbling, 3 to 4 hours on high, or 5 to 6 hours on low. Stir and serve over warmed tortillas; top with your choice of fixings.

Lemonade Cake

We had this at a potluck and I had to get the recipe! Then I made it for the church potluck today and it disappeared! Three people asked me for the recipe so I guess it's a keeper. :)

Lemonade Cake

1 lemon cake mix
1 4 oz. instant lemon pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water

Mix together, bake in ungreased 13" x 9" pan @ 350F for 30 minutes**, or until brown on the top.

After the cake cools, poke with a fork to allow glaze to penetrate.

2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T melted butter
2 T hot water
1 tsp. chopped lemon zest, optional

Mix and pour over the cake.

I made this the night before and stored on the counter, covered in foil. It was perfect the next day!

** Note - the recipe I was given said to bake for 38-40 minutes. Luckily I set the timer for 30 because it was absolutely done when the timer went off. We just had our oven worked on and the temp should be perfect. Just wanted to add this note, though, just in case. So check the cake and modify the time if needed.