I made lasagna last nite using the metal pan,

I used a recipe from a KRAFT magazine ad.

A bottle of spaghetti sauce plus 1 cup of water.
A pound of ground beef ( fried )
Uncooked lasagna noodles.
Mozzarella and ricotta cheese, etc.

Cooked, layered, covered w/foil, baked.

Had the kitchen ( and myself ) all cleaned up before
our friends arrived.

At the "ding", let it rest 10 minutes, cut and served.

Very good results, but.... could've used some "brightening".

Is it my imagination, or is bottled spaghetti sauce getting sweeter ?

Is "Classic Lasagna" just meat, cheese, sauce and noodles ?
I think next time I'll add some pizza ingredients....
( pepperoni, green pepper, etc. )

Any lasagna secrets to share for my next attempt ?


<rj>

<RJ> wrote:
> I made lasagna last nite using the metal pan,
>
> I used a recipe from a KRAFT magazine ad.
>
> A bottle of spaghetti sauce plus 1 cup of water.
> A pound of ground beef ( fried )
> Uncooked lasagna noodles.
> Mozzarella and ricotta cheese, etc.
>
> Cooked, layered, covered w/foil, baked.
>
> Had the kitchen ( and myself ) all cleaned up before
> our friends arrived.
>
> At the "ding", let it rest 10 minutes, cut and served.
>
> Very good results, but.... could've used some "brightening".
>
> Is it my imagination, or is bottled spaghetti sauce getting sweeter ?
>
> Is "Classic Lasagna" just meat, cheese, sauce and noodles ?
> I think next time I'll add some pizza ingredients....
> ( pepperoni, green pepper, etc. )
>
> Any lasagna secrets to share for my next attempt ?
>
>
> <rj>

Yeah... use 2 cans of plain old canned tomato sauce and 6 oz. tomato paste
and season it from there (basil, oregano, garlic). For some reason the mfg.
of the jarred stuff think people want lasagna sauce to be sweet. You may
also want to blend the ground beef with some bulk Italian sausage. If not,
add some fennel seed to the sauce for a nice touch.

Jill

In article >,
"<RJ>" > wrote:

> I made lasagna last nite using the metal pan,
>
> I used a recipe from a KRAFT magazine ad.
>
> A bottle of spaghetti sauce plus 1 cup of water.
> A pound of ground beef ( fried )
> Uncooked lasagna noodles.
> Mozzarella and ricotta cheese, etc.
>
> Cooked, layered, covered w/foil, baked.
>
> Had the kitchen ( and myself ) all cleaned up before
> our friends arrived.
>
> At the "ding", let it rest 10 minutes, cut and served.
>
> Very good results, but.... could've used some "brightening".
>
> Is it my imagination, or is bottled spaghetti sauce getting sweeter ?

Depends on the Brand...
Hunts is better than Ragu IMHO, but I generally get Buitoni brand
Marinara sauce! It's not too sweet and OH my gods it's SO good!
I get it in the Deli section at the grocery store. It's "fresh"
so has to be kept refrigerated. It's so good, I'd almost rather
use it than make my own from scratch! :-d

>
> Is "Classic Lasagna" just meat, cheese, sauce and noodles ?
> I think next time I'll add some pizza ingredients....
> ( pepperoni, green pepper, etc. )
>
> Any lasagna secrets to share for my next attempt ?

Seriously... My mother always used a light sprinkling of plain cinnamon
over the top of the ricotta cheese layers.

It's wonderful.

>
>
> <rj>

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

Katra wrote:
> In article >,
> "<RJ>" > wrote:
>>>
>> Any lasagna secrets to share for my next attempt ?
>
> Seriously... My mother always used a light sprinkling of plain
> cinnamon
> over the top of the ricotta cheese layers.
>
> It's wonderful.
>
>>

Not cinnamon, nutmeg! Nutmeg is the secret ingredient in most Italian
cooking. True story!

kili

My lasagne recipe calls for fresh parsley, and an egg, to be added to
the ricotta. Also, I agree with the poster who recommended using
italian sausage; I use a 50-50 mix of browned and well drained ground
beef and hot italian sausage. I also use a can of diced tomatoes, well
drained, and sauteed mushrooms and onions in the sauce.