Easy lasagna recipe for a crowd

Let’s face it, lasagna is never REALLY “easy”, but this recipe is the easiest one I’ve made and it always turns out delicious!  Homemade lasagna has got to be one of my favourite meals!

Everyone at Leah’s birthday get together yesterday loved it, so I’m writing out the recipe exactly as I made it.  It’s all large quantities, but if you don’t have a crowd to feed, it also works to just cut the recipe in half and bake it in a smaller dish.

Easy Lasagna Recipe for a Crowd:

Ingredients

• 2 jars or cans of your favourite pasta sauce (I used  2 x 680 mL cans of Hunts Thick and Rich Four Cheese sauce)


• 1 jar or can of water, plus about 1/4 cup water once assembled


• 2 lbs of ground beef


• 1 large green pepper


• 1 large onion


• 2 cloves of garlic


• 1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles


• 1 750g container of cottage cheese


• 2 eggs


• 750g of mozzarella cheese (about 1.5 large blocks of cheese), grated

Saute the garlic, onion and green pepper until softened.  Add the ground beef and cook until browned.  Drain off the fat if needed.  Add the pasta sauce and the can or jar of water to the ground beef. Simmer for about 1 hour (Or if you don’t have time, simmering for 5 minutes works too.  But the longer you leave it, the more the flavours mix).

Combine the cottage cheese and the eggs and mix well.

Assemble the lasagna in the following layers (I used a 11″ x 15″ roasting pan) starting with the bottom:  Half the ground beef mixture, lasagna noodles, the cottage cheese mixture, a little less than half the grated mozzarella, lasagna noodles, the other half of the ground beef mixture, drizzle the 1/4 cup of water over top and give the pan a gentle shake or two, then add the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350F, covered loosely with tin foil for 1 hour.  Remove the tin foil for the last 15 minutes.  If the cheese doesn’t look bubbly and a little brown, broil it for a few minutes.

Let it stand uncovered for 15 minutes to 45 minutes.  (Our guests were later than expected yesterday and surprisingly, it was still very warm after sitting for 45 minutes)

Makes 8 to 10 very generous servings.  (And we have big eaters in my family!)

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the picture version of the recipe:

Saute the onion, garlic and green pepper:

Add the ground beef:

Brown the ground beef:

Add the pasta sauce and water:

Simmer for 1 hour:

Grate the cheese (this is my least favourite part of making lasagna, but grated cheese is just too expensive to justify!):

Combine the cottage cheese and the eggs:

Here are the layers.  Half the ground beef mixture:

Lasagna noodles:

All of the cottage cheese:

A little less than half the mozzarella:

More lasagna noodles:

The rest of the ground beef, then drizzle with 1/4 cup of water:

Top with the rest of the cheese:

Bake for 1 hour and let it stand:

I like to serve the lasagna with caesar salad and garlic bread when I have guests over.  It takes a little bit of preparation work, but it’s really easy once it’s in the oven so you can actually spend time with your guests!

I was in a hurry to get everyone fed, so I didn’t have time to stage the plate like a food photographer would.  So this is exactly what we ate and it was delicious!

Source : onelittleproject.com
Read more...