Recipe: Mama Alana's Easy Lasagna

Red Sauce Ingredients:

2 - 15 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)

2 - 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

6 oz. can tomato paste

1/2 T. dried minced onion

1 t. minced garlic

1/2 T. oregano

1/4 t. fennel seed

1/4 t. marjoram

1/8 t. thyme

1/8 t. rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

 

Final Filling Sauce:

1 batch Red Sauce (above)

6 oz. dr. wt. can olives, sliced

16 oz. regular ground sausage, browned

16 oz. large curd cottage cheese

 

1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles (Great Value is good)

2 lbs. shredded cheese

 
Directions:

1. In a pan or crockpot, mix Red Sauce ingredients and simmer 30 minutes - 2 hours on low, stirring occasionally.
2. Brown sausage and drain.
3. Add olives, browned sausage, and cottage cheese to Red Sauce and stir until just mixed.
4. Spoon a thin layer of Final Filling Sauce in bottom of 4 qt (9" x 13" or 10.5” x 14.75”) casserole dish so noodles don’t stick and burn to the bottom. Layer dry lasagna noodles on top of filling, breaking noodles to fit in dish with 1/4” - 1/2” gaps between noodles. Add filling layer 1/2” - 1” thick. Repeat layering noodles and filling until filling is gone. Do not put dry noodles on top of final layer of filling.
5. Cover with shredded cheese. (To prevent cheese from burning, cover casserole dish with foil for the first 30 minutes of baking time.)
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until fork easily pierces lasagna to the bottom of the casserole dish. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Note: Top layer should not come higher than 1/2” from the top of the casserole dish. Do not overfill casserole dish because lasagna will bubble and overflow. For extra flavor, double the amounts of fennel, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary; if herbs are not simmered for at least 30 minutes, filling will have patches of bitter flavors.