8 Pound Lasagne

This is simply the easiest lasagne I've ever made and by far the most delicious. It has gotten rave reviews with people saying that it's the best lasagne they've ever had. Now why is it called "8 Pound Lasagne"? Well the answer is quite simple. This little two layer lasagne weighs 8 pounds before cooking. It's extremely dense! So consume responsibly.

Step 1: Ingredients

1 pound Ground Beef
1 pound Italian Sausage
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1/2 tablespoon to cook Garlic in.
2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
2 tablespoons Dried Parsley
2 tablespoons Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Small Curd Cottage Cheese
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese (The Kraft stuff works great!)
2 tablespoons Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Salt
1 pound Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagne Noodles or 1 package Oven-Ready Lasagne
Salt and Oil for water if you're boiling noodles

Step 2: Cook the Garlic

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet or saucepan on medium heat and cook the garlic for about a minute. Make sure the skillet is large enough to hold the beef, sausage, and tomatoes. I used a 3 quart skillet.

Step 3: Brown the Beef and Sausage

Add the beef and sausage into the pan with the garlic and mash together. Brown the meat and drain about 2/3 of the grease. Or a little less if you're feeling devilish ;)

Step 4: Make the Sauce!

Add the 2 cans of tomato paste and tomatoes to the pan. Add 2 tablespoons each of parsley and basil and 1 teaspoon each of oregano and salt. Mix it all together and simmer it over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. If you're going to use noodles you have to boil, this would be the time to do so. Cook the lasagne until it is al dente which is not overly cooked. Otherwise, move on to the next step!

Step 5: Make the Cottage Cheese Mixture

While the sauce is simmering, we'll go on ahead and make the cottage cheese mixture. YAY! Put all 3 cups of cottage cheese into a bowl. To it add 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of your grated Parmesan cheese. Mix it all together and set it of to the side.

Step 6: Assemble the Lasagne!

After your sauce is ready, we can go ahead and assemble the lasagne. Oil the pan with some olive oil. Start with the noodles on the bottom. I used three oven-ready lasagne noodles per layer but you can use 4 or more if you boiled them yourself. Put half of the cottage cheese mixture on top of that, followed by half of the meat sauce, then half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat using the rest of the ingredients that you have ending with the mozzarella cheese. It's then ready to be refrigerated for up to 2 days or cooked immediately.

Step 7: Bake!

Bake the lasagne at 350°F for 20-30 minutes or until the top is bubbly.

Step 8: Enjoy!

Enjoy your hot, yummy, from scratch lasagne! Each serving weighs about 2/3 of a pound so one serving is a lot! Consume responsibly!