Recipe for Zesty Lasagna

I learned to cook from my dad. He was the chief cook and bottle washer when I was a young girl. Mom worked at night, and slept in the daytime, so dad was sort of Mr. Mom. He came up with all kinds of recipes that tasted great. He put his own spin on foods that we had eaten in restaurants and he fixed them at home.

We were rather poor growing up, but I never knew we were poor. We had a house, and not an apartment. Dad built 3 houses that we lived in. It seemed to me, as I was growing up that there wasn't anything that he couldn't do. He could build, cook and even help me with science experiments that involved making generators and electricity.

Like I said, we didn't have a lot of money, and dad taught me how to pinch pennies. The title of my blog is cooking on a shoestring budget; those are actually his words. He used a Betty Crocker Cookbook to teach himself how to cook and bake when mom went to work to help support us. I helped him prepare a lot of meals and he talked to me about how to make good meals on a shoestring budget.

To make dad's zesty lasagna you will need an oblong baking dish or pan. I like to use Pyrex, just because it is so pretty in the dish when it is baked.

Here is what you need:

1 box of lasagna noodles
2 large jars of spaghetti sauce (I like Prego or Ragu the best)
1 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef (you can substitute with ground turkey if you wish)
1 package of hot Italian sausages (you can use mild if you prefer)
1 onion finely chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional... this gives it good heat)
16 ounces of ricotta cheese (you can use small curd cottage cheese if you prefer)
8 ounces of sour cream
1 and 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese
1 and 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese as desired

Here is what you do:

Fill a large pot with water to about 3/4 full. Add about a teaspoon of salt and a small splash of olive oil to the water so that the noodles will not stick together. While your noodles are boiling, saute the onions, and peppers until they are tender and brown. Take the onions and peppers out of the frying pan and set them aside; now you will fry the ground beef and sausage together until it is done. It is very important to know that the meat is cooked thoroughly.

In another pot pour in the spaghetti sauce, and cayenne pepper; add the onions, an peppers. Drain the meat from the frying pan and add to the meat. Cook for about 20 minutes so that the flavors blend in with the sauce.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta and sour cream together. You will dot this mixture by the spoonfuls onto each layer.

Now that everything is cooked it is time to build the lasagna. (I like to take a little olive oil and spread it around the inside of the Pyrex baking dish to keep the noodles from sticking to the glass.) Now line the bottom of the dish with noodles. Spoon a layer of meat sauce on top, spoon on some ricotta cheese and sour cream mixture, and sprinkle with some of all the kinds of cheese.

Keep making the layers until you come to the top of your baking dish. On your last layer cover well with all the cheeses. I like to bake it until the cheese is a little brown.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes and then cut and serve.

Add a salad and garlic toast and you have a zesty meal. Depending on the size of your baking dish, you may have enough noodles and meat sauce to make 2 lasagnas. I always make one for later. You can cover it with plastic wrap, and seal in aluminum foil and freeze for another time.

Enjoy!