Funny story: Bar owner (aka boss, sorta) comes to me and says ” Hey, you know what would make a great special? Lasagna!!! Run Lasagna on special….” to which my response was ” Sure, no prob” despite the fact that I’ve never really made lasagna before. But like most recipes, its not hard to make as long as you have a basic understanding of what your doing and what your going for in the end.

Lasagna is a baked dish that uses layers of wide pasta to hold meat, cheese and a basic red sauce together and you already know what it’s going to look like in the end. This dish takes a bit of time depending on how you do it. If you make the sauce from scratch, that takes time. It can be really easy or can be an all day project if you want it to be.

Your dealing with 4 basic components

* Pasta- Since it’s Lasagna, you want to use “Lasagna” noodles. Do I really have to explain this shit? Really? One thing I will say is to only “Par cook” the pasta since you want it to finish cooking when you bake the dish

* Sauce – Most of the time you use a red sauce but go nuts and use a pesto ( I will be posting links soon) or a white sauce if you want. Balance is key, you don’t want to use to much sauce or the dish will be runny but at the same time you don’t want it to be dry.

* Filler- I’m being nice to the vegetarians on this one since I just made a killer vegetable lasagna the other day but most of the time you would use some type of pork or beef depending on your tastes. What you use and how much you use is up to you. Just make sure you pre-cook it.

* Cheese- Some people use whole cheese and others, myself included like to use a basic cheese sauce. Its up to you, the same with the amounts and what type of cheese you want to use.

Mise En Place :

9X13 baking dish coated with a bit of oil so the pasta doesn’t stick

Foil

1lb (1 large box) lasagna noodles (par cooked)

1 Batch of basic Red sauce

1 Lb cooked protein ( pork, beef, whatever) or sliced veg such as zucchini, squash etc.

1 lb of Cheese, grated

MOP ( Method of preparation )

Par cook your pasta, in other words, cook it till it ALMOST done, but not quite since it’s going to finish cooking when you bake it.

Make sure that you have everything out and ready to go.

Line the baking dish with a layer of pasta, then add a thin layer of sauce, protein (or veg) and then top with cheese.

Add another layer of pasta and repeat.

You should get two layers out of a 1 lb box so when you add the second layer you only need to top it with a light layer of red sauce then cover with cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes at 350, but keep in mind, oven’s, much like woman are all different so pay attention or you will burn it.

Other notes: Super easy to make and a great way to use the red sauce recipe. Plus it stores well so you have leftovers for a few days if you don’t eat the whole thing the first night. Don’t be afraid to play, add some pesto (link will be up soon).

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