Not Yo Momma’s Lasagna!!!…a Freezer Meal Friday recipe

 

What is your comfort food? What is your soul food? Mine is Italian food. Ohhhhh, I love pasta, in many forms! And Pasta loves me…I kind of have a pasta stomach. You know, that little pooch from all of those carbs??? Yep, that’s me. At this point in my life, I need to decide…do I want a svelte body and give up all white foods and carbs? Or do I want to savor some good, tasty food, because..well…I’ve tried to be good for a long time, and I’m maybe just going to accept my weight and try to eat healthily for the most part. Lasagna is my treat. It’s also great to feed a crowd, take to a pot-luck, and makes a great freezer meal.

I’ve played around with lasagna recipes for a long time. This is one that I’ve created. No, it doesn’t have eggs. Yes, I really prefer cottage cheese in mine instead of ricotta cheese. Feel free to use turkey instead of ground beef. But the best thing is that I use Oven Ready Lasagna noodles, and don’t have to cook them first. Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

NOT YO MOMMA’S LASAGNA!

Ingredients
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles
1 1/2 lb. of ground beef or turkey
Large jar of favorite pasta sauce (I prefer Prego)
Small jar of marinara sauce
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
16 oz. or more of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
16 oz. of mozzarella cheese, divided in half
chopped green pepper (1/2 to 1 cup)
chopped onion (1/2 to 1 cup)
salt and pepper to your taste
Italian seasoning (1 tsp.)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375* F. Grease a large lasagna pan, or three smaller pans.
2. Brown the hamburger and drain. Add the large jar of sauce and let simmer.

                                          

To Make Filling:

1. Stir together the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Add seasonings. Add green pepper and onions.

To Assemble Lasagna

1. Using small jar of marinara sauce, spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Lay one layer of pasta on the sauce. Repeat as many times as you like. ( I usually repeat it once or twice.) Put cheese/sour cream mixture on top layer.

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1. Sprinkle with 8 oz. mozzarella cheese.

2. Add another layer of pasta. Put meat mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. If you need to, add more cheese to cover the top.

 

To Eat Now: Bake for 40 – 50 minutes. Let sit for 10 – 15 minutes.

To Freeze and Eat later: Cover with foil and label. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight. Remove foil and then bake for 45 – 60 minutes. Let set for about 15 minutes after baking. Enjoy.

 

Delicious with a salad, vegetable, and garlic bread.

 

 

 

 

Let me know what you think!

Recipe of Sherry Ruddell

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