This is pretty hard for me to believe, but I had never cooked a lasagna before until I cooked this one! Matt and I were heading out of town for the weekend and I wanted to leave our babysitters with something good to eat while we were gone. I decided to try my hand at a lasagna because I always think of lasagna as making awesome leftovers! Plus it’s delicious for either lunch or dinner.
I did a little googling and decided to try the Pioneer Woman’s lasagna that she claims is the.best.ever. I was actually a little turned off by some of the ingredients at first because they seemed a little unusual; but the more I kept reading, the more I became convinced. I added a little of my own flair, but everyone agreed this was delicious. The biggest ingredient that scared me was cottage cheese because I just don’t like it! I ended up using it and the truth is that you would never know that it’s cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Give it a try and don’t let it scare you 🙂
Pioneer Woman Lasagna
Prep: 30 Minutes Level: Easy
Cook: 30 Minutes Serves: 12
Ingredients
1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Salt
1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese (this is the packaged deli sliced mozzarella)
1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles (I used the “no bake” kind)
(add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)
I topped mine with fresh mozzarella as you can see in the photo below and I think that is critical. It makes it so delicious!!
I topped mine with fresh mozzarella as you can see in the photo below and I think that is critical. It makes it so delicious!!
Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.
In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).
To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.
Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.
Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.
What’s your favorite lasagna recipe????
I've used this recipie before. It's so good! I too was put off by the cottage cheese but I honestly couldn't tell a difference!
This looks delicious!! I might have to try this especially since the cottage cheese is healthier than the ricotta.
Yum!!!! Lasagna is one of my favorites! It also freezes well! I use cottage cheese in my recipe and I don't think I could do without it! I make my own spaghetti sauce from our garden tomatoes so I just use that but I like the canned tomatoes you used. That would give it more chunkyness!! Oh and I also like to add mushrooms and spinach. 🙂
Yum! I love lasagna and this one looks amazing! I also really like the lasagna recipe from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious!
Sounds delicious! I hate ricotta cheese so I'd be all over at least attempting the cottage cheese. Never would have thought about it though
My mom always made lasagna with cottage cheese so it's never bothered me, even though I HATE the stuff in anything else! I have a good and easy recipe on my blog. I usually love PW recipes, so I'm surprised I haven't tried this one.
I agree that the fresh mozz on top makes it look much more professional!
http://www.hautemommyblog.com
That looks SOOOO good but so much more involved then my "classic no-bake" lasagna (I wing it loosely based on the recipe on the side of the noodle box!). I'll have to try this one when I'm feeling adventurous! Make today work, Rachel –CubicleCouture
Oh gosh! Pioneer Woman is my favorite! This looks awesome! Have you ever used the no boil lasagna noodles? They are AWESOME and make lasagna so easy to make!
Those slices of mozzarella on top look soooo good! I really want to try that on my lasagna next time. The cottage cheese totally scares me, too – my husband loooves ricotta, but I bet I can trick him sometime 😉
Meg, Borrowed Heaven
Favorite recipe for lasagna – my grandmothers. Okay, cottage cheese a no no in lasagna. I know, a lot of cooks use it. The Italian in me and my grandmother would roll over and tsk tsk everyone who does use it. This is the fact on lasagna, the cheese is what makes it. Fresh, whole ricotta and fresh mozzarella on top (good one on your part for this one). I think most folks, even the good cooks use cottage cheese because it is inexpensive. I've tried it too after making lasagna for years and nope, I will never do it again. Yours looks great and I bet it tasted just as great, but something in me just won't use the cottage cheese.