Lasagna

What can ever go wrong when you serve lasagna? This Italian dish has so many varieties and I have yet to meet one I have not adored. The actual word in Italian is lasagne but Americans seemed to turn it into lasagna. Although this dish has Italian roots, the word is actually Greek so some say it is Greek. And then we have the British which say the saucy dish belongs to them. What do you think?

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 dried lasagna noodles
1 beaten egg
1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese or
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 ounces mozzarella/cheddar blended cheese. Shredded

1. For sauce, in a large saucepan cook beef, onion, and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and black pepper into meat mixture. Bring to full boil; reduce heat. Simmer and cover for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta noodles according to their package directions. Drain and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

3. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom a baking pan (13x9x2 inches) Layer enough noodles to just cover the bottom. The take turns layering filling, meat and cheese. You should eat with a layer of cheese then sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

4. Bake in oven for 30 minutes

Yields: 8 servings