# The most amazing lasagna! Now what?



## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Ok, so all the talk of eggplant parmesean had me wanting lasagna. Decided to find a recipe online and tried it! It was amazing!! Despite substituting my canned (barely any spiced) salsa for the stewed tomatoes and skipping a step by not boiling the noodles, it turned out so amazing!! The best I have ever had. As a plus, the recipe made enough to make 2- 9x9 pans! I put one in the freezer! 

My question is, I have never frozen a lasagna before. When I want to cook it, what do I do? Does it go straight to the oven or thaw then cook?

Ps. Holler if you want the recipe, I can share the link!!!

I am so excited!!! I have made lasagnas before but none have ever turned out this good! This recipe definitely goes in the cookbook!!!


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## Tenn_Farmer (Jul 14, 2006)

Please post the recipe. I think you can do it either way. You will just have to cook it longer if it is frozen.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

I only used ground beef, omitted alot of the salt, and didn't boil my noodles. I broke and layered them. Cooking time did not vary. I also only used about 3/4 cup meat sauce on each layer since I made 2 separate pans.
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Original Recipe Yield 12 servings -
Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.


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## Sherry in Iowa (Jan 10, 2010)

This looks like a great recipe..:goodjob: When I make it I think I'm going to make it like you did .. just with hamburger. Thanks for sharing this!


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

Your more than welcome!!! I am still tickled pink I found such a good recipe and that it turned out. We had enough for dinner tonight, leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and an entire lasagna in the freezer for future use.


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## Michee (Mar 10, 2006)

You can pop it right into the oven from the freezer. If you want it to be ready sooner on cooking day just take it out of the freezer the day before and store in the fridge. 

Frozen will average an hour to 2 hours at 350Â°. Pop it in the oven covered, turn oven on(no need to pre-heat). Check it at about 45 minutes to see how frozen. When it seems to be approaching warm, remove the covering and continue to bake until bubbly. A 9x13 pan generally takes 1:45 for me, varies a bit depending on thickness.


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## Betty J. (Jan 16, 2007)

I make and freeze Lasagna all the time. Just take it from the freezer to the oven. Turn it on 300 for 1/2 hour them boost the heat to 350 until the cheeses are golden brown. Good luck!


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

I never cook my pasta first, I just make sure there is a bit more liquid to cook the noodles.

I always cook the lasagna, let it cool and then freeze. In a pinch, I can always heat it up in the Microwave rather then in the oven.


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## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

if you freeze lasagna, you can cook it at 350 just make sure you have alumnia foil tightly over the dish. I freeze lasagna all the time. the alumnia foil kepts it from drying out.


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## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

To really kick your lasagna into high gear, consider throwing these into the mix-

into the meat & sauce mix- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Sounds weird- yes! But its yummy! 

Put a layer of spinach in the middle
or thin sliced zucchini! 

Salami! I use gallo brand dry salami. In the pan I put sauce, uncooked noodles, then more sauce, cheese, italian sausage, spinach, then another layer of noodles, sauce, cheese, then the salami and zucchini, and some olive slices. another layer of noodles, sauce and cheese, and cover and bake!


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