Lasagne

www.flickr.com, photo by Elin B.

Like many other people, I went through a phase of buying frozen lasagne in a box. It was so convenient. Besides, when it was on sale, it was a decent price. However, to be honest, I always kind of wondered what was in the sauce, especially when the box announced, "Flavored with meat." What kind of meat? What did that mean?

Homemade lasagne is more work, but it's not a ton of work, and--let's face it--anything would be more work than pulling a pre-made meal out of a box and tossing it in the oven.

Just in case you're still thinking you don't want to go to all that work, and wondering if it would really make a difference, let me show you something.

FoodFacts.com gives Stouffer's Lasagna with Meat Sauce the grade "F" for the following reasons:
Contains controversial ingredients--6 to be exact, including artificial coloring and undisclosed "Flavoring"
High in sodium
Contains added sugars

But wait! They also make a lasagna called "Stouffer's Farmer's Harvest Lasagna"! That sounds healthy, right? It also earned an "F" from foodfacts.com. Their "Farmer's Harvest Vegetable Lasagna" barely passed with a "D-".

Making your own lasagne allows you to control the ingredients you feed your family. Feel free to change some of mine, if that's what you like better. No more wondering what's in that "meat sauce," because you made it yourself.

This recipe is from a church cookbook.

Lasagne

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce:
1 and 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 Tbsp. basil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 lb. can tomatoes
12 oz. can tomato paste

Cheese Mixture:
2 eggs, beaten
1 large carton cottage cheese (skip the low-fat!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

You will also need:
1 lb. mozzarella cheese
8 Whole wheat (or brown rice) lasagne noodles

Directions:
Brown and drain the ground beef. Add the other "meat sauce" ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all of the "cheese mixture" ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. Cook the lasagne noodles in a large saucepan for 1/2 the time, according to the package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Using a 9x13 pan, layer half of everything in this order: noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese (slice or shred first), and meat sauce. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Note: If you prepare the lasagne ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, increase the baking time. It should cook for at least 45 minutes.