Lasagna

 

1 lb. 91% lean ground beef*

1 (25 oz) jar marinara sauce,preferably Rao's tomato basil**

1/2 cup vegetable broth

6 uncooked lasagna noodles (not no boil, preferably use Barilla)

1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese(whole or part skim)

1 (8 oz) pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese***

1/2 cup grated or finely shredded parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp Chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12 by 8-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in beef and cook and break up beef until cooked through.
• Remove from heat and stir in marinara sauce and vegetable broth (I like to swish the vegetable broth around in the empty jar of marinara sauce to remove any excess, totally optional).
• To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 of the marinara sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) into bottom of baking dish. Top with 3 uncooked lasagna noodles.
• Spread 1/2 of the ricotta over the noodles using the back of a spoon. Top evenly with 1/2 of the mozzarella (1 cup) and 1/2 of the parmesan (1/4 cup). Top with another 1/3 of the sauce.
• Add 3 more uncooked lasagna noodles then spread evenly with with remaining 1/2 of the ricotta. Pour and spread over last 1/3 of the sauce. Top with remaining 1/2 of the mozzarella and parmesan.
• Cover tightly with foil (you can grease first if the top of the lasagna will be touching the foil so cheese doesn't stick), bake 40 - 45 minutes until pasta is fairly tender.
• Remove foil then continue to bake uncovered 10 minutes, or until lasagna is just tender (not soggy. There will seem to be a little liquid on the sides still). Let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley if desired.

Notes

• *A fattier beef will work you'll just need to drain off excess fat after cooking. I've also made this with down to as little as 10 oz. ground beef and it still tastes great it just depend on how meaty you want it (just keep in mind if going that route use about 1 1/3 cups sauce for each layer).
• **I know Rao's can be expensive (I always wait for it to go on sale for $5 or $6 a bottle and stock up). Another store-bought sauce I love is Classico Four Cheese that's much cheaper and I've tried that here as well but I'd recommend using 1/4 cup less broth since it came out a little runny.
• ***If you have block mozzarella and parmesan I've also used those and they work great. But if you want to save the prep time go with pre-shredded.