Easy Homemade Meat Lasagna

Hello everyone! So if you can’t tell by the title of this recipe or the big picture, today I’m going to tell you how to make Easy Homemade Meat Lasagna! YAY! Everyone loves lasagna…unless you don’t have a soul! 0_0 YOU SOULLESS BEING, BE GONE! Naw, I’m just kidding, I’m sure plenty of people don’t like lasagna….you know like all those people who enjoy kicking kittens! SO EVIL! Okay, I’m done. This delicious lasagna is layered with creamy ricotta, a rich savory meaty sauce, and generous amounts of gooey, cheesy mozzarella and the best part is, it’s so easy to make! Now, let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?

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Ingredients:

For Ground Beef:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic and garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Shan Turmeric Powder
• 1 tablespoon Shan Cumin Powder
• 1-2 teaspoons Shan Red Chilli Powder
• Pinch of Shan Coriander Powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
• 1 or 2 small green chili peppers, sliced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

For Lasagna:

• 1 16 oz. package of Barilla Wavy Lasagne
• 1 24 oz. jar of marinara sauce, homemade or store bought
• 1 32 oz. carton of Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 whole egg
• cooked ground beef
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, optional
• sprinkle of salt, for spinach
• freshly chopped parsley, to garnish

Directions:

Before you do anything preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pot of salted boiling water cook your lasagna according to package directions. If you are using oven-ready lasagna skip this step because you don’t need to cook beforehand. While you wait for that pasta to cook, in a mixing bowl, add in the carton of Ricotta Cheese and the egg. Mix together thoroughly using a fork or whisk until there is no sign of unmixed egg. After a few minutes it will be nice and creamy.

In a frying pan with about a teaspoon of oil I just cooked down my thawed frozen spinach and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper. This should take about 3-5 minutes depending on how thawed the spinach is. You can then just add the spinach to the ricotta mixture and mix until combined.

The lasagna noodles should be just about done. When it’s done drain in colander and set aside. Drizzle with a bit of oil to prevent sticking. After setting aside the noodles, let’s move on to the ground beef. Admittedly I usually use leftover Keema (Pakistani ground beef), which I have a recipe for if you would like to use that.

If you are making it from scratch—you can quickly make a Cheats version of Keema. Heat up the oil on a medium heat in a saucepan and then add in the ground beef with the garlic, spices, and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes until it changes in color then lower to a low heat. Add in a chopped tomato, chili peppers, and cilantro. Mix together until combined and let it cook down for 5-7 more minutes. Once the keema is cooked add in the pasta sauce and allow to simmer for a couple minutes just to let the meaty flavor infuse into the sauce. Mmmm, such meaty and delicious.

After all of this you should have everything set to start putting the lasagna together. You should have in front of you the meat sauce, mixed ricotta cheese, lasagna noodles, and shredded mozzarella. You’ll want to assemble everything in a 9×13 pan, this should fit everything well. The first thing you want to do is place a layer of sauce on the bottom of your dish. Then place a layer of lasagna noodles (4-5 pieces)

The number of lasagna pieces will depend on the size of your dish and  also your lasagna. Next you want to put a nice thick layer of ricotta cheese on it, then spoon on a layer of your meaty sauce, and finally a layer of mozzarella cheese. You can use pre-grated or slices of whole mozzarella.

Looking good! Now all you need to do is continue layering this. So another layer of lasagna, then ricotta, then sauce, and last mozzarella. Do this until your last layer of lasagna and leave some sauce, ricotta, and cheese for the top. I like to end with a nice saucy, cheesy, layer on top. I usually end up with 4 layers, so plan accordingly. Sprinkle with a generous amount of mozzarella on cheese to give it a nice golden, brown cheesy top!

Last thing is to cover it with aluminum foil and bake in the middle rack of your oven for 45-50 minutes until it starts to bubble. After this uncover it and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the mozzarella cheese is brown and bubbling. Feel free to garnish with some freshly chopped parsley!

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