Major Life Milestones and Lasagna

It's a big week for me around here.

I'm approximately 24 hours away from a major lifestyle change and I'm like a ticking time bomb, which, depending on the moment, could explode into tears or confetti.  Tomorrow, I'll take my baby to Kindergarten.  This is huge when I consider I have had at least one little person by my side pretty much everyday for the past 15 and a half years.  I can count on one hand the number of times I've been alone in my house.  So, as I swing wildly to and fro on the emotional pendulum between the not wanting to let go and the exciting prospects I see ahead, I thought this might be a good day to just talk about lasagna.

After all, what better comfort food is there than lasagna?  I've been making this same recipe for several years.  It's my husband's favorite, and I think you'll love it too.

The best part about this recipe is that you can use traditional lasagna noodles, but you don't have to boil them first, so it saves you time and effort, which are two things I always love to save.

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 26 oz can of spaghetti sauce
1-1/3 cup water, divided
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 T. dried parsley (or 3 T. fresh)
1 8-oz pkg of lasagna noodles, uncooked

Start by browning and draining the ground beef.  Then, add to that the sauce, plus 1 cup of water.  Bring that to a boil.  In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta and egg.  Add 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/3 cup of water, and the parsley.  

Remember, if you're using dried parsley, add only 1 Tablespoon.  I picked some fresh from my mini herb garden, so I used 3 Tablespoons.  

The trick to this recipe is to rinse the noodles under hot water as they are layered into the pan.  So, start by rinsing 3 to 4 strips and placing in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  

Next, spread half of the cheese mixture over the lasagna...

Then, spread 1/3 of the sauce over the cheese...

Repeat the lasagna, cheese, and sauce layers once more, then end with one more layer of lasagna and the remaining sauce.  Top with the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella.

Then, cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting, and it will slice up beautifully for you.  

Hope you like it! I may need to make a pan of this to eat while I'm re-reading my back-to-school pep talk from last year.  Click here if you need one, too!