Easy Lasagna
Think making lasagna has to be difficult? Not with this super simple recipe. You don’t even need to purchase oven-ready lasagna noodles. Makes a great freezer meal, too!
Equipment
- 9 by 13-inch baking dish
- Aluminum foil for freezing, if desired
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 pound ground beef
- ¾ cup water
- 1 32-ounce jar of marinara sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ box lasagna noodles
- 1 16-ounce container of cottage cheese
- 16 ounces mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- If you are going to freeze the lasagna, prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking dish for freezing the lasagna by layering in one sheet of foil lengthwise and two sheets of foil across, overlapping slightly. Leave some extra foil draped over the edges of the baking dish.
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet. If you wish, you may add chopped onions, celery or green pepper to make a ground meat mix.
- Drain the ground beef, then add water, sauce, and salt. Mix together and bring to a boil.
- While the sauce is coming to a boil, slice the mozzarella cheese. I like to place eight slices on each cheese layer. I usually like to have two layers, so you will need to slice 16 slices. When the cheese is sliced and the sauce has come to a boil, begin your layers.
- Layer hot sauce, lasagna noodles, and cheese. Repeat layers and top with sauce.
- To freeze the lasagna, cover with foil but leave the extra foil lining draped over the sides. Put the baking dish in the freezer. After 24 hours, remove the frozen lasagna from the baking dish using the extra foil as handles. Fold the extra foil over the top so the foil completely encases the frozen lasagna. Label the foil with the date using a marker and return the foil-covered lasagna package to the freezer. For best quality, eat within 18 months.
- If the lasagna is frozen, take it out of the freezer 1 day before baking. Return it to the same baking pan you originally froze it in. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bake as directed. If you bake the lasagna directly from the freezer, you will need to add approximately 30 minutes of bake time.
- To bake thawed lasagna or lasagna that has not been frozen, cover lasagna pan tightly with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.
- Let the lasagna stand for ten minutes before cutting. Remove the foil and garnish with Parmesan cheese.