Fresh Tomato Sauce Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil;

1 cup finely chopped onion;

4 garlic cloves, minced;

2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes;

2/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil;

1 teaspoon salt, divided;

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided;

2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese;

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese;

cooking spray;

8 cooked lasagna noodles;

1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese;

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil.

Preparation:

In a small pot or Dutch oven, heatl oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is happening, crush the tomatoes with a food mill or by hand and add them to the pot. (You could probably just buy crushed tomatoes, too, but I haven’t tried it.) Bring pot to a boil. Drop heat to a simmer. Cook 80 minutes, until sauce is a little thickened. Kill heat. Add "2/3 cup basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper." Stir. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 13x9 Pyrex/baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, heat ricotta over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella. Stir until mozz is all melted, and fully incorporated with the ricotta. Kill heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir.

Pour 2 cups tomato sauce in baking dish. Spread to cover bottom. Place 4 noodles over the sauce. Add all the ricotta/mozzarella and spread out on noodles. Place 4 remaining noodles on top of cheese. Spread last 2 cups tomato mixture on noodles. Sprinkle with the parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes, "or until cheese melts and filling is bubbly." Take out of oven. Garnish with basil. Give lasagna a few minutes to cool and set. Serve.

Cream Cheese Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 box of lasagna noodles (about 9-12 noodles);

2 quarts (64 oz.) Aunties Spaghetti Sauce, recipe found here;

1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage;

2- 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened;

5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese;

11/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese;

Italian Seasoning.

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large sauce pan, brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking into small pieces. Once the meat is fully cooked, add the spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

Boil the noodles in a large pot of salty water, according to package instructions. Remove the noodles and lay them out on wax paper.

Spray an 9X13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray. Smear 9-12 noodles with an equal portion of cream cheese. (The number of noodles used depends on the width of the pan.)

Start assembling the lasagna: One large scoop of meat sauce on the bottom, 3-4 noodles across (cream cheese side up), 1/3 of the mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat. After the third layer of noodles with cream cheese, pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles before adding the last layer of the mozzarella and parmesan. Sprinkle the top with Italian Seasoning.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes—until the cheese is toasty and the sides are bubbling. Wait at least 10 minutes before cutting.

If making this ahead, cover well, refrigerate, and bake for 40-50 minutes to heat through!