Recipe of the Week: No-Fuss Beef Lasagna

his is a recipe that I have used for the past 4 years.  I started getting tired of those frozen lasagnas and wanted to have a fresh, homemade recipe that was easy.  No offense to the frozen lasagna eaters.  But once you try this recipe you won't want to buy the frozen ones any more either.  Not to mention that if you make 2 pans you can eat one that night and freeze the other!  Enjoy the lasagna and as the Italian's say, "Buon appetito!".

No-Fuss Beef Lasagna

Makes 12 3x3 inch squares

**I used turkey for this tutorial, and not a person in my family could tell the difference. Plus I think I left the instant coffee out on the counter and I definitely did not put that in my lasagna.**

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, lean
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar spaghetti sauce
14 1/2 ounces Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper, ground
15 ounces part-skim Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
10 lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups part-skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 375ºF. In large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Pour off drippings. 

Season beef with salt; stir in spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and red pepper; set aside.

Meanwhile in medium bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg.

Spread 2 cups beef sauce over bottom of 13 × 9-inch baking dish. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles lengthwise in single layer. Place 5th noodle across end of baking dish, breaking noodle to fit dish; press noodles into sauce. **My pan is not big enough for 4 noodles across.**

Spread entire Ricotta cheese mixture over noodles; sprinkle with 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.

Then top with 1 1/2 cups beef sauce. Arrange remaining noodles in single layer; press lightly into sauce. 

Top with remaining beef sauce.

Bake 45 minutes or until noodles are tender. Sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese on top; tent lightly with aluminum foil. Let stand 15 minutes; cut into 12 (3 × 3-inch) squares.

Finished!

Andiamo a mangiare! (Let's go eat!)