So I just finished baking lasagna this evening, and had one slice for dinner matched with ice cream and hot chocolate to top it all. With the many recipes for this yummy Italian dish, I used the Golden Grain lasagna recipe at the back of its package. I already used this recipe at home in the Philippines, so I am quite used to it now. I will try other recipes next time though. Anyway, here’s the original recipe as what’s recommended in the package.

Ingredients:

8 oz Lasagna ribbons
2 containers (15 oz each) Ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (2 x 1 cup)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (2 x 1/4 cup)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp dried basil
30 oz spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup water
1 lb lean ground beef, cooked and drained

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
• In medium bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, eggs and basil, mix well
• In another medium bowl, combine the spaghetti sauce, ¼ cup water, and the cooked ground beef, mix well
• In a 9″x13″ square pan, spread 1 ½ cups of meat sauce
• Place 1/3 of the dry lasagna ribbons over sauce
• Spread ½ of the cheese mixture over dry lasagna ribbons, top with 1/3 of meat sauce
• Repeat layering. Finish with lasagna ribbons and remaining sauce.
• Sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese
• Cover tightly with a double layer of foil
• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the lasagna is fork tender.
• Let stand 10 minutes sealed in the foil before cutting and serving.

Now since I didn’t have all the exact ingredients with me at hand. I used some substitutes and also tried a different approach to some of the instructions. Instead of Ricotta cheese, I used Edam cheese (or you can use cheddar cheese). Since I didn’t have Parmesan cheese, I also used Edam cheese as substitute. Then I used tomato ketchup instead of spaghetti sauce, and I sautéed the ground beef with minced garlic and onions. Note that for cooked lasagna noodles, baking time is only about 20 minutes.

I have a recipe from Eden meltsarap cheese and I am curious to try it out since it uses all-purpose cream, flour, butter, mushrooms aside from the usual ground beef and cheese ingredients. Anyway, have you tried cooking lasagna, and what ingredients are you using?