The Lady And Sons Lasagna ( Paula Deen )

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons house seasoning (full recipe is 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup black pepper and 1/4 cup garlic powder mixed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 9 lasagna noodles (6 to 9 long strips)
• 12 ounces cottage cheese or 12 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
• 1 cup swiss cheese, grated
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Recipe

• 1 to make the sauce: in a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar and bay leaves.
• 2 bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• 3 crumble the ground beef in a saucepan.
• 4 cook until no pink remains, then drain off the fat.
• 5 add the ground beef to the stockpot.
• 6 simmer for another 20 minutes.
• 7 while the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
• 8 if the sauce is too thin for your taste, you can thicken it up at this time by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water-- bring the sauce back to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly.
• 9 remove the bay leaves.
• 10 preheat the oven to 350º f.
• 11 mix together the cottage cheese with the 1 beaten egg and the 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.
• 12 to assemble the lasagna: place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9" x 13" x 2" pan.
• 13 layer 1/3 each of noodles, cottage cheese mixture, gruyere, swiss and cheddar cheeses.
• 14 pinch off small pieces of cream cheese and dot over the other cheeses.
• 15 add another layer of sauce.
• 16 repeat layering 2 to 3 times, ending with sauce.
• 17 this may be covered and refrigerated at this point.
• 18 bake for 20 minutes.
• 19 remove from oven and top with the mozarella cheese and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
• 20 note: if the lasagna has been refrigerated, bake for 40 minutes total.
• 21 enjoy!