Not The Lazy Man’s Lasagna

I believe there are two ways to make lasagna; the easy way and the putting all my love into it way. Usually, I opt for the lazy way; boxed noodles and jarred sauce. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Like I said, this is how I prepare it most of the time. It takes a fair amount of work to put a lasagna together.

There are times, though, when you want to bump it up a couple of notches and do something extra special for those you love. This one takes several hours to make but is so worth the time.

Slow-Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

I start with my Slow-Cooker Spaghetti Sauce a few days before. The lasagna can be built the day its being served or even a day before.

For the spaghetti sauce, two types of tomatoes can be used; regular canned tomatoes or… San Marzano tomatoes. Using San Marzano kicks the sauce up another notch. This is the sauce you make for those near and dear to your heart. 😊 San Marzano tomatoes are imported from Italy. If you opt for this tomato, make sure to check your can and ensure you are getting true San Marzano’s. There is a San Marzano “style” tomato that is grown in California.

Okay, are you ready to get going? My picture of ingredients includes the ingredients to double the batch of sauce. When I make my spaghetti sauce, I like to make extra so it can be frozen and enjoyed later for an easy travel day dinner. (or when I lived in a sticks and bricks, an easy weeknight dinner)

Ingredients for Sauce

1 pounds ground beef, Italian sausage or a combo of both
2 28 oz Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
3 oz Tomato Paste
1 Onions – chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 Bay Leaves
1/2 cup red wine
Salt to Taste

Directions for Sauce

Using the Sauté setting on your instant pot, brown the ground beef and onion, adding a little salt as it browns. Drain any fat from the beef.

Add all other ingredients and stir to combine.

Cook on low heat 6-8 hours. Check the flavor every few hours. The wine will cook down and add depth to the sauce. A little more sugar and salt may need to be added to suit your own taste.

Once the sauce is done, it should be cooled to room temp and remove your Bay Leaves. Whatever is not used in your lasagna can be frozen for future use. This sauce is good for any pasta dish. You can omit the beef for a meatless dish.

Now for the pasta. Our pasta recipe came from Anne Burrell in a copy of Food Network Magazine I subscribed to at one time. Bill saw the recipe and wanted to give it a try. I was like “Go for it, Chef Billaredee” and here we are. We have used this recipe to make lasagna, spaghetti and fettuccini noodles. The difference it makes in your dish is unbelievable!

Basic Pasta

Ingredients for Pasta

3 Cups of Flour
1 Tsp Salt
4 Eggs
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/8 Cup Water (if needed)

Makes 1 pound of pasta.

Directions

Combine ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix with dough hook adding water as needed until dough is leathery. Knead by hand for 3 minutes. Wrap dough in saran wrap and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Dust with flour before cutting.

Cut dough into 3 equal pieces. Flatten dough and feed through a pasta press at the widest setting. Fold in half and feed it through again. Keep doing this 3-4 times until it is pliable. Then change setting to 1 and run the dough through. Change setting to 2 and run dough through. Move the setting to 3 and run again. Now take the setting to 4 and run one last time. You should end up with a long sheet of dough about 1/8″ thick.

Lay the sheet down on a floured surface and cut to the size of your pan. Once the 3 dough pieces have been pressed into sheets and cut, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add enough salt that the water taste like the sea. Boil the noodles for 4-5 minutes. Remove the cooked pasta from the water and drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.

Building the Lasagna

Ingredients

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Lasagna Noodles
16 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt to taste
16 oz. shredded mozzarella

Directions

Combine the ricotta, parmesan and egg and mix well. Add salt to taste.

Preheat oven to 400°

Coat the bottom of your lasagna pan with sauce. Add a layer of noodles. I like to make 2 layers in my lasagna, so count your noodles and use half of them on the 1st layer. Next spread half of the ricotta followed by 8 oz. of the mozzarella. Ladle another generous layer of sauce on top of the cheeses. Then follow with your noodles, ricotta and mozzarella. End with another layer of sauce and then sprinkle with a little additional cheese.

Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Lasagna should be bubbling and heated through. If the top starts to get too brown, place some foil on top and continue to bake until the center is cooked through.

Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to set up for about 15 minutes.

Cut and enjoy!