Lasagna is a classic winter comfort food, don’t you think? It can be pretty time-consuming to make, though, so this past weekend we used a jar of our Pasta Sauce to speed up the process.
We didn’t take exact measurements, and were trying to use up some ingredients in the fridge, but we put together a rough guide for you. Head to our website to see the full recipe, and let us know if you give it a try. It may be the perfect meal to help get you through this snow storm that’s on its way to us tomorrow!
Ingredients
1 jar Thames River Melons Pasta Sauce
12 lasagna noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, peeled & diced
6 mushrooms, diced
1/2 head of broccoli, minced
1/2 tub of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup provolone cheese, shredded
Salt & pepper to taste
Cooking oil
Instructions
Add a generous glug of cooking oil to a shallow pot and heat on the stove over medium. Add one piece of bell pepper to the pan to test the temperature. Once it starts to sizzle, you’re good to go!
Add the remaining diced bell pepper along with carrots and mushrooms. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until veggies are softened.
Add the ground beef and cook until browned. You can also use a ground meat alternative!
Once meat is cooked, drain any extra fat. I like to drain it into a small cup lined with tinfoil. Once the fat hardens you can wrap it up and dispose of it!
While the meat cooks, cook your lasagna noodles according to package instructions. When done, drain and lay out on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel.
Add the jar of pasta sauce to the meat and veggie mixture, and stir evenly until coated. Remove from heat and set aside.
Whisk together ricotta, 1/2 of the Parmesan, 1/2 the mozzarella, milk, and minced broccoli. Season with salt and pepper and stir until evenly combined.
Now it’s time to assemble!
Grab your favourite 9x13 casserole dish and coat the bottom & sides of the pan with cooking spray.
Next, add a generous scoop of the sauce mixture. Lay 3 noodles on top, followed by more sauce and 1/3 of the ricotta mixture.
Add 3 more noodles, more sauce & ricotta, and then sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and half of the provolone.
Again, add 3 noodles followed by sauce and the remaining ricotta.
Finish with 3 final noodles and top with the rest of the sauce, followed by the remaining provolone and Parmesan. Make sure the top noodles are completely covered by sauce and/or cheese so they don’t dry out during the baking process! You may need to shred more cheese at this time.
Cover the lasagna with either a lid or tinfoil (spray with cooking oil so it doesn’t stick to the cheese!) and then bake at 425°F for 50 minutes.
After 50 minutes, remove lid or tin foil and bake for another 5 - 10, until top cheese is fully browned.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe developed and photographed by Alex Chesney, RD