Homemade Lasagna

Holy Yum was this ever good! I have only ever made lasagna using the recipe on the lasagna noodle box, which is simple and plenty satisfying if that's what you want. However, last time I made it I just didn't care for it. So, I took to the internet and found a recipe that sounded different and delicious (http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/2014/06/easy-homemade-lasagna-recipe.html) and I made it with what I had on hand and below are the results and the directions...

First off, I do not measure things except when making cookies. So amounts are my best guesses.

I put about a tbsp of both butter and olive oil in a big pan and let it melt. I then added about half of a medium sized diced onion and about a tbsp of jarred chopped garlic. After a few minutes on medium heat I added 1 lb of ground beef and browned it. Next I put in 1/4 cup of half and half along with a few shakes of salt and pepper. After a few minutes I put in 2 28 cans of diced tomatoes that I first pureed in a food processor. I added probably around 1.5-2 tbsp of italian seasoning and let it all simmer for about 10 minutes.

While that worked it's tasty magic, I mixed together 15 oz of ricotta, around 1/4 cup of parmesan, 1 egg, about 3-4 tbsp of basil paste, and a little sprinkle of salt and pepper.

For the layering I first put a very thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of the lasagna dish. Then I added 4 oven ready lasagna noodles, followed by a thin layer of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Next, I sprinkled shredded mozzarella on top (maybe 1/3 cup?) followed by cheddar on top of that (maybe 1/4 cup?). I repeated this layering process two more times, but on the final layer I also added in freshly sliced mozzarella on top of the ricotta, before a small sprinkling of shredded mozzarella and cheddar.

I covered it and baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes then uncovered it and baked it an additional 15 minutes. It was sooo good! I think thin layers of everything are important and this was super cheesy which is a big hit in our house.

In the future I'll add another small can of tomatoes and make a fourth layer of the lasagna as I had plenty of room left in my deep lasagna pan.

Enjoy!