I have used them exclusivly since I got used to them...
I just make sure my sauce is a little juicy.
For the first time, try building the lasagna, and then refrigerating it for a couple of hours to see how much it absorbs....then you will get the idea.
I can't stand a dry lasagna, I don';t want the meat layer to be like a slab of meat loaf and the cheese layer like cheese cake.
But, you can always have extra sauce and put some on each serving if it gets too solid for you.
Linda C

I make the best lasagne in the world, from my father's recipe, which was his mother's. We have never boiled the noodles, just use them right out of the box. I'll say what brand I prefer if that's "allowed" here; it's probably the most common one out there.

Of course, my sauce and meatballs are wonderful, too. Very saucy. I don't know what dry lasagne is like, but it doesn't sound good. My lasagne is soft, chewy, gooey, layered perfectly and absolutely luscious, if I do say so myself (rather modestly...)I'd serve it to visiting heads of state.

Sherry

"...I'd serve it to visiting heads of state."

Well, WELL...I'm waiting patiently for your recipe.

/tricia (tapping foot, tapping foot, tapping foot) lol

Me too, tricia.

You'll have to be a little more patient, Tricia. I'm about to leave the house, but I'll post it tonight or in the morning.

Meanwhile, Chickadee, I suggest you add a can of tomato sauce to your meat sauce if it's really that thick, and a little garlic and oregano, too.

First, spread sauce on the bottom of the pan, then a layer of noodles with the long edges overlapping each other a bit; put a thin layer of sauce on the dry noodles. Spread the ricotta on that, ladle more sauce on the ricotta, sprinkle plenty of shrredded mozzarella and grated parmigiano on the sauce, add another layer of noodles and repeat. End with sauce, mozz and parm. Bake immediately or later, doesn't matter. Before you cut the baked lasagne, let it rest at least 20 minutes or it will run all over the place.

I'm coming, dear, I'm coming!

Sherry, That's exactly how I make my lasagna; which is exactly like my mother's; which is exactly like her mother's. Both from Naples, Italy.

I'm making it for family dinner night this Wednesday.

I've used the "oven ready" noodles with success, but have gone back to using the regular kind because they are cheaper. Also, my sauce tends to be really thin, but I like to be able to slice the final product as opposed to spooning it. So I use the regular noodles right out of the box. I bake my lasagna long enough that the noodles absorb the excess liquid, and get well cooked.

I've used the oven ready noodles and, like cooksnews, I've used the regular kind right out of the box. They seem to work equally well. I think my sauce is normal thickness - neither super juicy nor super thick. The same thickness that clings nicely to pasta without running all over the plate.

Hey, Mustangs, my people are from Naples, too! I went to Rome for the millenium and loved it, but the people there and in Florence didn't look like any Italians I'd ever known. Then I went to Naples....ahh, here they are! I didn't know until then that most Italian-Americans come from around Naples (and Sicily), hence the Italian-American food we eat is the Napolitan version of things. Very interesting to me....right down to the drying strings of garlic and peppers we always had strung around the house.

As for the lasagne: This is going to be tricky. I don't measure the ingredients, I just "know" how much to use. I'll give my best estimates. And I don't use oven-ready noodles, no reason to.

SAUCE:

Tomatoes - 2 large cans whole peeled plum
Tomatoes - 3 large cans Sauce, no flavorings
Pork chops - 2 or 3 bone-in, cheapest kind
Wine - 1/2 C dry red
Oregano - 2 T
Garlic powder - 2 T
Garlic - 3 cloves, crushed
Salt
Red Pepper flakes - as many or few as you like
Olive Oil

In deep kettle, heat oil, brown pork chops well, set aside. If you like Italian sausage, brown it well in the pot now, set aside with the chops.

Add spices except crushed garlic to hot pan quickly, stirring for a few seconds. Don't let spices brown. Add wine to deglaze pan. Add whole tomatoes and crush and squish them with your hands. Some chunks are OK. Add tomato sauce and crushed garlic. Return chops (and sausage) to pot, let simmer while you make meatballs.

Meatballs:

Ground Pork, ground veal, ground round, 1/2 lb each
Salt
Garlic powder
Oregano - pinch
Bread - 2 stale slices (French or Italian is best, but you can use ordinary whole wheat if you have to.)
Milk - to cover bread
Egg - 1
Cayenne pepper - pinch
Parsley - 1 T dried

Squeeze the milk out of the bread, discard milk; shred bread into the meat work bowl. Mix all ingredients together lightly until thoroughly mixed. Form a small patty to taste, fry it, taste for salt and spices. Adjust. Form into balls, fry them. I like to cook them thoroughly in the fry pan; my dad always browned them in the pan, then let them finish cooking in the sauce. In any case, put the meatballs in the sauce as you remove them from the frying pan.

When finished frying the meatballs, add some red wine to the fry pan and scrape to deglaze. Add this to the sauce pot, stir it in, let it simmer.

Ricotta

Ricotta, 2 large containers whole milk. It seems to me to be the creamiest
Parsley, dried - 1 T or so
Salt - 1/2 t or so
Cinnamon - nice dash
Nutmeg - a little less than the cinnamon
Sugar - 1 t or so
Garlic Powder - 1/2 t or so
Egg - 1 whole
Cream - necessary to reach the right consistency. I usually use a T or two.

In a seive, drain all the liquid from the ricotta. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth. Taste for creaminess, sweetness and salt. It should be light tasting, and the spices will color the whiteness of the cheese.

To Assemble:

Lasagne noodles - 1 package
Mozzarella - 1 1/2 to 2 lbs, shredded
Parmigiano - 1 wedge, grated
Sauce
Ricotta

Spread sauce on the bottom of 11 X 13 pan, then a layer of noodles with the long edges overlapping each other a bit; put a thin layer of sauce on the dry noodles. Spread the ricotta on that, ladle more sauce on the ricotta, sprinkle plenty of shredded mozzarella and grated parmigiano on the sauce, add another layer of noodles and repeat. End with sauce, mozz and parm. Cover with foil, bake immediately or later, doesn't matter, for about an hour at 350. Uncover, continue baking another 15 to 20 minutes to brown the top lightly. Before you cut the baked lasagne, let it rest at least 20 minutes or it will run all over the place.

OK, thanks for the recipe but I've got questions. Please forgive my ignorance. I don't eat much Italian food.

What happens to the pork chops, Italian sausage, & meatballs? Served separate along side the lasagna? Reserved for another useage? I can't imagine lasagna with pork chops or meatballs inside?

/tricia

The first time I ever tried lasagna (about 12 years old), it was made with bite-size meatballs.

I think you shred the pork chops and add it back to the sauce. The sauce, meatballs and all, is spooned onto the noodles.

No onions?

Silly me! Sorry about that. I've eaten it all my life, thought everybody did!

No, you don't shred the pork chops. You fish them out of the sauce pot while it's simmering and have a treat! Or you serve it with the sausages and meatballs in a bowl next to the lasagne. I think you were kidding me about putting the meatballs in the lasagne, right? Meatballs are about the size of golf balls!

Serve the lasagne with a bowl of sauce to pass so diners can have as much or as little extra sauce as they like. And, of course the meat bowl, has a little sauce, too. And a bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese to pass, too.

And garlic bread.

Nope. No onions. But I guess you could if you wanted them. I put onions and green peppers in "quick" sauce with ground beef, but not in the real thing.

I think you were kidding me about putting the meatballs in the lasagne, right? Meatballs are about the size of golf balls!

Nope! The bite-size meatballs were IN the lasagna. They were really small!

Are you sure it wasn't chunks of ground beef? Why would anyone bother to make millions of tiny meatballs? Interesting.

Sherry, that's a very interesting recipe. I have a secretary who always puts a pork roast into her spaghetti sauce and says her mother always did that. I'd never heard of it, and now you have the lasagna sauce with the pork chops.

I'm going to tell you that her mother must have known Neopolitan cooking!

Annie

Yes, Annie. I've never done it, neither did my dad, but my aunt did. It wasn't one of my favorites then, but it might be now. Those pork chops are mighty good!

Another decendent of Naples here! Avellino, actually. I think the entire village of Avellino came to America!

My mother would often throw some pork chops in her "gravy" - especially if she wasn't putting in sausage. We made our meatballs with ground beef exclusively. Some people use a ground pork/ground beef combo. I guess the end result is to have SOME kind of pork cook in the gravy to add flavor. And my mom never put meat right in the lasagna - only ricotta. Now hubby's mom - who's from Newfoundland and learned to make lasagna from a Polish woman, always put meat in hers - and I have to say, with not an Italian in the mix, her lasagna is very good!! And cinnamon and nutmeg is a no-no for us - you've just transformed Italian lasagna into Greek Pastitsio!!!

Lisa

Sherry, So many similarities; we could very well be Napolitan cousins!! We went to Rome after the millenium celebration because I was afraid of the crowds. We went in the fall and had my DD's wedding in Florence.

Back to business:
Always "pork" in the sauce.
Always "chunks of ground beef in the sauce".
Always "meat bowl passed around".
Never "onions".

To the original question. I have never used the oven ready but decided to try it this week. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. An additional bonus was that a box fit my Emeril Lagasse lasagna pan perfectly!

My Mom, who was British, always put chops or, spareribs, or a pork roast or sausage or all of the above , in her tomato sauce. She would either serve them separately or shred the meat and add it back to the sauce.

I always save the flap piece from spare ribs and throw it in my sauce.

Sherrmann, I have a lasagna recipe ( think from the Food nNetwork) that uses sliced meatballs as a middle layer in the lasagna. The other layers are only tomato sauce and ricotta. It's excellent!

Oh, I could go on and on about my trip to Italy. It was a treat from my wonderful mother-in-law, who wanted to be in St Peter's Square with the Pope when the clock struck 12. She was 88 at the time, healthy, charming and generous.

How lovely to have a wedding in Florence! It is such a beautiful city. Hub's mom took him to Paris and London long before she and I went to Italy. Hub wants to take me Paris, I'd love to return to Italy with him. Alas, travel doesn't appear to be in the cards.

We're traveling the world through cooking. Hub gave me a new Spanish cookbook several weeks ago, so I've been contenting myself with preparing Spanish foods for us. So far no misses, just great foods. Last night's pork and vegetable stew was outstanding.

I make lasagne a lot, and like to cook the noodles. Actually, I hate cooking the noodles, but I haven't like the no cook ones much. I also don't use a recipe; a little of this, a little of that, red wine in the sauce, egg, parm and parsley in the ricotta. But I've never drained ricotta. Is it necessary?

Jo

I prefer to make the noodles myself, and I use about 1/3 semolina flour in them, to give them more tooth. You definitely do not need to boil fresh lasagne noodles, and they are a lot easier to make than ravioli, although I do prefer ravioli - it's just very time consuming to do.

I haven't used pork in my lasagne, but I did generally use Prosciutto, which might have a similar effect. DB won't eat pork (or beef), and so I have to use turkey sausage instead.

Lars

Sherry:
Cinnamon ????? Are you part Greek ?

A Short Story .
I built my BIL's Pizzeria in Philly. (Ceaser's)
When it was finished and they started cooking, he had an older Greek fellow to help .

A couple of weeks later , he wondered why nobody cared for the Spaghetti Sauce.

I was still building 2 Apts. above the restaurant and went down to eat lunch.
He made me taste the Sauce ( Pituuuiiieee )
It had Cinnamon in it.

I don't have anything against Greek cooking but you don't put Cinnamon in Italian " Gravy ".
I said " Ceaser, We use Cinnamon to bake cakes. "

So, I had to make a batch of Gravy and he made the cook watch.
He is still making it the same way.

I'm glad that was a short story.

Carolyn:
My daughter is bringing up frozen Ravioli's on Easter.
We are going to use them to make Lasagna. We will use a Meat Sauce w. simmered Sausage and Ground Sirloin.
And add some Rigotta filling in between, Along with Parmesan Cheese.
Let you know how it turns out.

Mustang's:
That's exactly how my mom and her mom made it.
I have to pinch your cheek, next time I see you .
What can I say !!! We pinch cheeks.

Lisa:
My Family was from a little south and east of Avelino, Calabria.

Badolato, Italy. That's my last name. I'm afraid to go there.
I might own some land or they might hand me a pile of Bills
my family built up.
I could change my Last name before I go.

Lou

Our family is from a small village, just south of Rome, Artena. No onions in our sauce, ...ever. We do also like to have beef and pork both. I love the taste pork gives to sauce. We really like to also have chicken in the sauce. I love the flavor chicken gives as well. I save skin and some bones from chicken and the fat from pork chops and bones too just in case I don't have pork or chicken on hand when I want to make sauce. At least then I have the flavor. Also with just two of us I don't always want all that meat. No meat in the lasagna, just served on the side. Pop Pop always put vinegar on the meat from the sauce on a little saucer.

I think a whole village generation of Artena moved to Trenton, NJ too. Our family name is on everything there. The church, the priests... lol.. a whole herd of them still there. My Pop Pop came over first, with his first wife. She died after having 3 children so.... he sent back to Artena for a new wife and voila, got my Nonna. He sent a nice silver and marcasite pin with the request to show he was worthy of a new wife. Smiles.

Jo, some brands of ricotta are quite wet and can really use the draining, while some are fine without it. If you're going to do the regular noodles then the extra liquid should be fine, unless your sauce is really thin.

My Italian friend calls those pork chops that you fish out of the sauce "plate meat" and oh boy are they delicious!
Joann

What? NO MUSHROOMS? I always put some sauteed mushrooms into the sauce.

Guess lasagna is how you view your preferences in food, and lasagna is extremely flexible. Drain the ricotta before using. I don't like tiny pieces of ground meat floating around in the sauce, so I make small meatballs (that have been browned and then simmered in the tomato sauce), slice them to dot over the tomato sauce as I am layering. And to make the whole thing like more of a balanced meal, I make a layer of creamed spinach, too.

Now what would you call that? Italian-German Lasagna?

Don't know what you would call it, but I am married to an Italian fellow and my background is German. Am extremely fond of Southern Italian cooking.

Yeah, I know about the cinnamon. But it's just a little dash in the rigott, not the sauce, and it's not like you can tell there is cinnamon in it. It just makes it good. I use it because my dad always did, and he said his mom did.

Do you have "quick" sauce and "the real thing?" I use ground beef and pork in quick sauce, but for the real thing, we like it smooth and rich, with the meat bowl to pass, full of meatballs, sausages, pork, and when I'm really ambitious, braccioles. My braccioles are no where near as good as dad's were, so maybe I need a different recipe. I'll bet you folks have good ones.

My aunt always made her own pasta, my dad never. I never have, either. At this point, I think investing in a pasta machine is too expensive, although I hear the one that would fit my KA mixer might be a good one. Seems like it would take way too long to make enough pasta to feed my gang.

Sherry:
How about a 6 pound Surf and Turf Braciolle. Made with thin Sirloin Steak.

{{gwi:1503528}}

Just joking ! But you may want to try it later ?

I'll have to find my Spaghetti Sauce Recipe for you.
LOU

Sherry: Here is the Spaghetti Sauce recipe.

I usually make about 10 Quarts and Freeze it.

You can cut up fresh Garlic Cloves with a Paring Knife and Sautee in oil.
Most of us do this to make it taste just like Mom's or Nanna's.
I've found that it didn't matter and proved it, at a Family Spaghetti Sauce Cookout.
I WON !!!

Besides it saved a lot of time in my Pizzeria

I just start with a large SS pot and put the tomatoes in and start to Simmer
Then start adding everything.

- - - - - - - - - - -

PIZZA SAUCE and SPAGHETTI SAUCE ( Gravy )

Tomatoes : Try to use Italian or a deep red color. Some choices are Contadina , Red Pack , Hunts , All Red, = Tutto Rosso, Chento
- - - - - - - -

Pizza Sauce

1 Large can of Tomato Puree and Crushed Tomatoes
I use Powdered Spices now, and get the same results
1 level teaspoon Garlic pwd.
(add more later to taste)
1 tablespn. of onion powder. 1 teasp. Salt.
3 teasp. Sugar ( add more if it tastes too acidy ).
An Italian pinch of pwd.cloves.
3/4 teasp. Oregano ( or to taste ) it is strong.
1 teaspoon of Parsley,
1/2 teasp. basil.
1/4 teasp. black pepper.
½ teaspoon + of ( Chicken flavored Soup Base )
Simmer for about ½ hour or use without cooking.
Large handful of Parmasan Cheese, when done , after 1/2 hour.

Continue for SPAGHETTI SAUCE "GRAVY "

This same recipe can be used for Spagetti Sauce ( maybe you would want to cut down on the Oregano ) also just add a can of Tomatoe Paste and water to thin a little .

If it is too thick it will burn easily. It will thicken as it cooks.
½ cup of fine chopped Onion.
And 3 bay leaves .
Don't forget the Chicken flavored Soup Base.
Add uncooked Meatballs, or ( I bake about 3 dozen meatballs and freeze them )
Sausage and Chicken Thighs, when you start cooking. (cook at least 1 ½ to 2 hours ) Take the chicken out when it is done. ( About 1 hour ) Add the Parmasan Cheese after the sauce is cooked & stir
ALSO !!! season to your own taste. Add more or less of what you like.

Lou

I had a wonderful Lasagna in Venice....onions for sure and topped with a bechamel...mornay sauce.
And there's moussaka, which is just a lasagna usinge gg plant...
My son in law's grandmother came from northern Italy and she always used lots of onion and grated carrot in her sauce. not a lot of carrot....and but for the sweetness you would never know it was there.
I learned to make lasagna from an Italian man who lived with us a while when I was about 13. He was a cook somewhere, and my grandmother, who also lived with us made friends with him, and something happened and he didn't have a place to live, so he lived with us for a few weeks, and visited often for a few years afterwards.
He always started his pot of gravy with pork chops and onions and chopped green peppers, and then added canned Italian plum tomatoes and Contadina tomato paste.
And I love Greek tomato sauce with cinnamon...never put it in the ricotta, I always mix egg, parsley, pepper and some grated mozzerella...as well as parmesan into the ricotta mix. He said that the mozzerella hold the lasagna together....and his lasagna never contained any meat...just the flavor from the pork chops.
Linda C

To answer the original question, I have bought and used oven ready lasagna noodles on two ocasions. I HATED THEM. They had some sort of really fake taste to them. We ate the lasagna, anyway, but after the second try, I said, "never again."

Lou mentions the gravy burning if it is too thick. I always had trouble with my gravy scorching until I found that I could take all the racks except the bottom one out of the oven and shove in my HUGE sauce pot. The allover heat keeps it from scorching and the flavor is fab!

I second bbstx on the oven ready lasagna.
I just made some lasagna yesterday with some new whole wheat lasagna noodles. It was just a whipped up quick sauce, and no ricotta so I used cottage cheese (also added some chickpea puree for more fiber). Anyway, I added about 1/2 c water and covered tightly with foil. I cooked it for an hour and 15 min. I think they were the most tender (not mushy) noodles I've ever had!

As for the real sauce when I make it, no onion ever. Only ground chuck (no pork) in the meatballs. Cook the meat in the sauce. I always make extra meatballs and freeze them. Then, next time I make the sauce, I throw in frozen meatballs and frozen sausage in the sauce and cook all day. I stopped browning the meat a long time ago. Ground chuck is very lean and our butcher makes very lean italian sausage.

We call chicken flavored soup base my secret ingredient - I put a spoonful of it in almost everything I make, but not spag sauce. I'll give it a try next time.

I forgot about the sugar and carrot. Haven't used a carrot in years, but I do use sugar when the sauce needs it.

Olives in a bracciole, Lou?

BBSTX, Maybe it was the brand?? I was skeptical but went ahead with trying the oven ready. I will make another lasagna next week with my usual cooked noodles for a better comparison.

OT:

Lou, That looks fabulous, my grandma's didn't look any better--although hers was stuffed differently.

Lisbet, I do use mushrooms but it depends on what's next with the sauce. If spaghetti and pasta fagioli, I will add mushrooms.

Coconut, Like your family, my family name was all over when they arrived from Naples. Granddaddy opened an Italian grocery store.

Sherry:
You commented on the Olives ? and don't think nothing of all the other ingredients and size.
Braciole's are usually a few ounces, not 6 lbs.

I put in everything you could imagine.

Stuffing with Shredded Fish, Sausage pieces , Pepperoni.
Shrimp, Sliced hard Boiled Eggs.
I forget what else ? Oh! The olives.

You have no idea , how all the different flavors melded together.
You would do cartwheelies.

I dare you to try it !!!!!

If Chicken is used in Spaghetti Sauce, why not the Chicken Soup Base ?

Lou

PS: Double Dare You !!!!!

I'm game, Lou. I know you do everything in grand style, so I wasn't surprised at the size! It does look dee-licious, and I do love olives.

Actually, the reason I seldom make them is because they are so labor-intensive. I think your way might be the way to go! How long do you cook that thing? Is it baked?

My kids will be here next weekend. Do you think I have time to make that monster by then? They'll love it. Thanks

Sherry

Cathy :
How did I miss your Message ???

Sherry :This started when I asked my butcher to slice some Sirloin thin for Sandwich Steaks.
He sliced them a little too thick for Philly cheese Steaks.
Sooooooooo !!!!
I used my imagination and came up with this.Not hard to do.

Just found the recipe:

From Luigis Kitchen
Stuffed, Large Roasted Braciole , Surf and Turf.
I dont think this has been done before but Im not sure.

Here are the Stuffing Ingredients:
Seasoned Bread Crumbs, 2 cups, with
Garlic powder, 1/3 teaspoon
Onion Powder, 1/3 teaspoon
Salt and a Pinch of Old Bay Seasoning
Parsley Crushed , 1 teaspoon
Parmesan Cheese I tablespoon
1 Tablespn. of Pwd. egg, or 1 egg mixed with the 1/2cup water, below
1/3 cup of Onions chopped small and cooked 3 min. in Micro Wave
¼ teaspoon of Black Pepper
Mix all these ingredients together well.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Ingredients for the stuffing are;
2 Hardboiled Eggs, sliced.
½ cup of Olives and Capers chopped
Mushrooms ( optional )
Cooked Shrimp
Pepperoni pieces
Also, add whatever you like . Maybe some Provolone Cheese?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If using regular egg ,mix in here, when cool.
In a ½ cup of hot water, mix 1 heaping teaspoon of,
Chicken Soup Base and add this to the Bread Crumb mix.
Dont mix too much ! And just blend to dampen, Not too wet.

Lay one piece of Steak in a large Platter or whatever you choose.
The piece in the Photo is about 6 in. X 12 in.
Spread all the Bread Crumb stuffing mix on this evenly.
Place all the Other Ingredients on the stuffing evenly.
I put smaller pieces of the steak under the side and
let them hang out for wrapping the Braciole as it is rolled.

Lay another large piece ( the same size,
as the bottom piece of the sirloin.
Start rolling the steak, folding in the side pieces as you go.
Hog tie the whole mess very good !!!
I Browned this well and put it into the Waterless Roasting Cooker
With 1/2 cup of water

Now it is Ready, to go in the Oven with the Potatoes

It baked 1 ¾ Hours,at 350 deg. The internal temperature went to 160 degrees.