Yummy, Yummy Lasagna

Thought I would share my lasagna recipe. We've had lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner for several years. At a time when I'm still frantically wrapping presents (and even MAKING some!), having an "easy" dinner is a lifesaver! Team it with a nice "Olive Garden" style salad and some garlic bread, and everyone's happy! Can't remember where I got the "base" recipe from, but after several tweakings, it's not much like the original anyways.

Lasagna

½ pound dry lasagna noodles

½ pound Italian sausage

1 pound ground beef, extra lean

½ cup shopped onion

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon anise seed

2 tablespoons tomato paste (hint: store remainder in a baggie in the freezer for next time!)

½ teaspoon oregano

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 pound cottage cheese

¾ pound Mozzarella cheese, grated

½ cup Parmesan cheese (divided)

Cook lasagna according to pkg directions and drain. Brown ground beef with onions. Drain, if necessary. Add spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, sauce and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (this helps the sauce thicken). Simmer 20 minutes.

In a large casserole, layer the ingredients in 3 layers. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes (uncovered).

Salad and Garlic Bread:

Chowing down...out of the many pics I took that evening, most of them showed Adam's "finger-extension syndrome." Poor Adam. Must be tough to have to live life with that middle finger always sticking straight out. Har har.....

Again....with the Meatless Manicotti I made for his girlfriend, who is a vegetarian. Sigh...I guess all I can do is pray that someday, someone will discover a cure for his disfiguring ailment...