Four Cheese Five Layer Lasagne!

Well we finished the tortilla soup and it was just as great as the first day we made it. So, today I'm going to mix it up and make a lasagne that is sure to tickle your taste buds and keep you fed for a few days. Now, this recipe calls for quite a few spices and a lot of different kinds of cheese which makes it a little bit pricey but definitely worth it in the end. How can you say no to 4 cheeses?

You will need:

1 lb. cooked and drained ground beef

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1- 15 oz can diced stewed or diced tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Egg

1 cup 

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

12 lasagna noodles

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

Other items you will need:

10-12 inch skillet

1 medium mixing bowl

1 large mixing bowl

1 9x13 baking dish

Cooking spray

It helps to have the noodles boiled and the ground beef cooked before hand so you can just dump everything in. I use ground chuck for the ground beef and Ragu chunky style spaghetti sauce. The onion, tomato and garlic is the best. And for the stewed tomatoes I use Italian style to pack in a little extra flavor. 

The next steps are simple! Preheat the oven to 375 and in a large mixing bowl add the ground beef, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, basil and sugar and stir until incorporated. In a separate medium sized bowl combine the egg, cottage cheese, Parmesan, ricotta, salt and pepper and stir until incorporated. 

Next, coat the baking dish with non-stick spray and layer the mixtures in the following order: 1 1/2 cups sauce mix, lasagna noodles, 1 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture and sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella on top of freshly spread cheese mixture, add lasagna noodles and repeat in that order. You should end with the sauce and have 3 layers of sauce and 2 layers of cheese. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top of the finished lasagne. 

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes, take the lasagne out and carefully remove the foil and bake again for 15 more minutes until the cheese on top melts. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. A small salad and garlic bread really complete the dish or just enjoy it by itself. 

Happy Eating!