Simple Lasagna

The comfort food for all. Easy to make. Easy to find ingredients. Good for a crowd or if you like to have leftovers. This one is adapted from a Simply Recipes food blog.

Serves 8ish

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced
1 zucchini, cut into small pieces
mushroom to taste (I used half a package of baby bella)
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken, boil half a box)
1/4 cup sugar
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
14.5 oz stewed tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1 lb Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (I bought a 3 pound rectangle and cut slices)
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated the first time and already grated this time)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Italian Spice
Salt
Garlic Salt
Parsley (fresh or dried)
1 Garlic Cloves, minced
White wine vinegar

This first part can be done in the morning or the night before to cut down on your dinner cooking time.

• Brown lean ground beef in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl with paper towels. After all the browned beef has been removed from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess beef fat. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel.
• Add diced zuchcini. mushrooms, and onion to skillet. Brown for a few minutes on medium high heat, add browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.
• Transfer browned beef, mushrooms, zucchini and onions to 3 Qt. pot. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste. Open stewed tomatoes, drain, and dice, then add to 3 Qt. pot. Add oregano, parsley, Italian Spice Mix to taste, about 2 teaspoons of each. Add a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a dash of white wine vinegar. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time, until desired level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Taste, add, taste, taste, until you reach the desired taste and consistency. Stir and allow sauce to simmer 15-45 minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.

• Cook 1 lb lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a low boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. Add salt and/or olive oil as usual while cooking pasta. Drain in colander and place in cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together.
• In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). I used 10 x 13 dish and the edges did not overlap. In fact, it was very easy to cut and portion out. Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops (about a Tablespoon) every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese slices, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of ricotta cheese. Apply second layer of noodles, repeat three time topping with noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Delicious the first day, second day, third day... you get the point.