Ok, I’ll bite! I’ve been here quite a while and I don’t remember that one. What is different?

That's a good recipe and similar to what I make. One thing that I have noticed is is that some people layer the cheese in the same layer with the meat and I like to them separate and make a very deep lasagna.

Keep the layers of meat and cheese separate.

Oh yeah, I remember Joey's Killer Lasagna. It's really good and I make it when I'm out of my home canned spaghetti sauce. I don't use veal, though I do really like the addition of Italian sausage. I remember a rousing discussion here about whether to put eggs in the cheese or not, and there was a sharp division, LOL.

Either way, it's darned good lasagna, I may have to make some with some gluten free lasagna sheets I bought yesterday at Whole Foods. I went shopping in Grand Rapids after Bud's neurologist appointment and the first Whole Foods in West Michigan just opened about a month ago. And yes, it's still expensive..

Annie

Annie, do you just add more ground beef instead of veal? I do not eat veal, since you cannot know how it is raised. ( At least where I live, so I avoid any veal.) Normal veal from long ago, they let the male calf nurse until weaned and then butchered is okay. The new way of taking the calf as soon as it is born and force feeding milk in a pen where it can't move is not.

I just used the beef and pork and sausage.

It does sound good. I also use a combo of beef and Italian sausage...no veal. The “filling“ layer I make has ricotta, parmesan, eggs, sauteed mushrooms and spinach. I started using Rao’s Marinara instead of tomato sauce and rinse the jars out with red wine.

nekotish , so you substitute pork for the veal?

I stopped using ground beef in lasagna years ago. It doesn't really add flavor--Italian sausage gives it the flavor, and you don't really need to use a full pound. I don't like a heavily meaty tomato sauce in lasagna. You get enough to eat with the pasta and cheeses. I would also use a can of San Marzano or other good whole tomato to the sauce, cut up. The tomato pieces add a brightness that offsets the pasta and cheese.

I don't know if Chase still posts here but she recommends provolone instead of mozzarella, and I have found that it does have more flavor than mozzarella. I use it for pizza now too.

I haven't been adding Italian sausage to my lasagna, but now I might start. I also do not like an overly meaty tomato sauce in lasagna, but I do like it in moussaka.

I generally use a combination of mozzarella, provolone, and Asiago for the cheese, and I sometimes do this for pizza as well. I really prefer mozzarella for eggplant Parmigiana, however. I do not want the cheese to compete with the eggplant, and I like the texture of the melted mozzarella.

I've always mixed egg with the ricotta when making lasagna, but I don't remember why.

What exactly is indicated by ‘tomato sauce’. Is it passata?

In the U.S., tomato sauce in a can has been cooked, usually with some garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. I don't like it when they add citric acid to it.

I think it would be better to use passata in this recipe, since the sauce is cooked for 1-1/2 hours. I never cook sauce more than 20 or 30 minutes myself. Also, I add fresh basil to the sauce after it has been cooked or else mix it in with the ricotta.

Lasagna sheets are very easy to make with a rolling pin, and lately I have been making them in the shape of my baking pan, which is Corningware. I do not make massive amounts of lasagna because I have nowhere to store massive amounts of leftovers. I'm only cooking for two.

Annie, you should try making lasagna sheets also. I use 1/2 cup of flour (can be gluten free of your choice) per egg, and I add about 1/8 tsp salt to the dough so that I do not need to boil it in salted water.

I made this batch without boiling the pasta first, which is okay, but I like it better when the pasta has been boiled for one minute and then rinsed and drained.

I find it faster to roll pasta out with a rolling pin than with a pasta machine. I'm making fettuccine pasta this evening, to have with pesto sauce that I made yesterday.

Most of the canned tomato preparations come in whole tomatoes, diced, crushed, pureed, and tomato sauce. I've never bought a can, so I can't say what it tastes like, but here are the ingredients from Tuttorosso brand. (I use their crushed tomatoes exclusively.)

Ingredients: Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste from Vine-Ripened Tomatoes), Water, Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, *Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Dehydrated Bell Pepper.

In my experience it is a bit thicker than passata.

Funny to see this, I made my first lasagna in years a few weeks ago and I was thinking of Joe. I was debating between his recipe and ATK's, and chose the latter. Also thought of Lars as I made my own fresh sheets. Came out awesome.

It was a bit sloppy though the way I made it, and I recall one of Joe's goals being to develop one that stood up nice and firmly.

My question: If using uncooked, undried sheets, do I need to account for extra moisture as with no-boil sheets, or should I cook them first, or should I just not worry about it?

Next question: Bumblebeez, why separate the meat and cheese layers? To keep it kosher? 😂

FOAS, I remember when he first posted it, he got quite a bit of push back from another member who kept insisting that it would be too dry as written. I'm here to say it is not dry at all and once it sits for a few minutes, cuts into perfect squares that stay sitting up nice and tall without running all over the plate. I though of using fresh pasta sheets but had the same questions that you did and couldn't seem to find definitive answers so I used dried. One thing I have learned about using dried is that you don't have to boil them first. I just put them in my sink and pour boiling water over them and let them sit til I'm ready for them.

I've only made lasagna a couple of times and they were recent, in the past year or so. I find it bothersome, but holy, when I eat it at someone's place, or make it, it's an absolute treat.

I was out with friends last weekend, and she made lasagna and put mushrooms in. First time I've had it with 'shrooms, and now this recipe has them. I've never heard of them in lasagna prior.

I'm keeping this thread, it sounds delicious!

Nekotish and others, do you use fresh mozarella when you make lasagna?

Eileen, when you add a can of tomatoes to the sauce, it doesn't end up with too much liquid?

Lizbeth, FWIW my own preference is fresh mozzarella. To me it just tastes richer and I like the texture.

I mentioned adding egg to the filling/ricotta layer in my earlier post. I meant to say it works as a nice binder and just gives the filling more ”body” IMO. Just something I’ve done for many years.

No, I use the 28 oz. can of tomatoes like I do for my regular pasta sauce and cook it for two hours. The San Marzano tomatoes are usually in a thick puree so I add a can of tomato paste and some water. That's about the same amount of sauce that Joey uses but his is meaty and mine is tomato-y. I use half the meat he uses and only Italian sausage. It seems like a waste of veal to put it in lasagna. If you want to make a richer pasta sauce, brown a pork chop in olive oil and throw that in to simmer. You can cut the chop into small pieces when the sauce is ready. It will have fallen off the bone by then.

I do use an egg in my cheeses, so I drain the ricotta first in a mesh strainer so that the cheese mixture isn't too loose There's usually a tablespoon or two of liquid after a few hours of draining. I drain it for manicotti and stuffed shells too.

No easy access to fresh mozarella here, so I just use the chunks (balls?) I used provolone this time too because I had some on hand.

Sherry, I use the same total amount of meat, but it's a mix of pork, beef, venison, sausage, whatever I have on hand. I feel the same way about veal, and so I do not use it.

Lars, I make my own pasta sometimes, but I normally save that process for "company meals". I just haven't tried to make gluten free pasta yet, although I will. The past couple of years has just been so busy I haven't had time to do a lot of the things I want to do. Since I resigned the Township job, I feel like my time is my own again.

I have some Italian sausage and some venison thawing for lasagna this weekend, but tomorrow is ribs and wings and a big plate of nachos. The Princess and the Frat Boy are coming for lunch tomorrow, he got an assortment of hot sauces for Christmas and he and Elery are going to "sample" them. No one else in the family will touch the stuff, LOL. I made a chocolate babka for dessert, and I'm going to make Mac and Cheese Eggrolls for The Princess.

So, the lasagna will have to wait until Sunday. I told Amanda I would portion the leftovers and freeze them and she can use them as meals for work nights.

Annie

Annie Thank you. Hubby does NOT like any sausage, especially Italian. I can probably use some if not a lot and it is mixed in. I have made cheese only lasagna and it is good, but missing something. Mushrooms seem to be okay in everything. He likes them in spaghetti.

ETA: I used to use a lot of venison but he quit hunting and we are out.

Sherry - try adding some ground lamb or for that matter, use only ground lamb.

Before you add lamb - know your audience. A whiff of lamb ruins anything for me. Long story but we had sheep when I was a kid and basically lamb tastes how sheep smell to me.

^Good point from nekotish. My family likes lamb, but I don’t serve it for others unless I know for sure.

I like lasagna that mostly stands up too and is very deep. It is much more visually appealing with separate layers.

He has never had lamb. I would not want to try it. It is expensive here and I am sure he would hate it. He ate venison, but I insisted that if he killed it, he had to eat it.