Three Cheese Lasagna

Lasagna is a very popular recipe amongst all Italians. Although several towns make it differently, my mom usually makes her lasagna with ground meat, cheese, and tomato sauce. Being that I made this recipe on the first Friday of Lent, I decided to try and make it without the meat. I called it “Three Cheese Lasagna” and made it for about 20 people. With the help of my mom’s recipe, my lasagna was a big hit!
Here is my recipe for “Three Cheese Lasagna”- perfect for every Friday of Lent!

Serves about 6-8

¼ chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

½ cup water

salt and pepper to taste

1 packages Lasagna noodles

2lbs Ricotta cheese (divided)

1 8oz bag Mozzarella cheese (divided)

1 cup Parmesan cheese (divided)

2 eggs

 

First, sauté onions in olive oil on medium heat. Once onions are caramelized, poor in tomato sauce, tomato paste and water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sauce cook for a half hour.

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl mix together Ricotta, eggs, salt, pepper, and a ladle full of sauce.

Once Ricotta mixture is ready and sauce is cool, begin layering. Line the bottom of an 8x16 pan with lasagna noodles. Next, add a ladle full of sauce to coat the noodles. Evenly add half of the Ricotta mixture over the sauce. Sprinkle ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layer instructions once more.

Finish off the top layer of the lasagna with noodles, sauce and sprinkle Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, uncover the pan and let it bake for another 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let the lasagna settle for about 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Italian Stuffed Green Peppers

I made my Mom’s stuffed green pepper recipe for my boyfriend last night. Although I tried to substitute a few ingredients to make it a bit healthier, (wheat bread, ground chicken, brown rice) he still loved them! The tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, garlic and Italian seasoning are what make this recipe a classic, traditional, Italian dish.

While the peppers are SO filling by themselves, my Mom usually serves them with diced, roasted potatoes and salad.

Here is what you’ll need…

 

6 green bell peppers

1 pound ground meat

2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce

½ cup Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

2 slices White bread

½ cup uncooked rice

1 large egg

1 teaspoon olive oil

First, preheat oven 375 degrees F. Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward.

 

Next, in a large bowl combine ground meat, 1 can tomato sauce, bread, egg, and rice. Once those are all mixed together add in ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. 

Then, spoon mixture into each pepper until pepper is full. Drizzle olive oil, 1 can tomato sauce, and the rest of the Parmesan cheese over the peppers.

Before final touches and baking...

Place aluminum foil tightly over baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour. When finished, peppers should be tender.

Serve and enjoy!