Post Ice Fishin Double Meat Lasagna

After being outside in the cold all day, sipping beers, telling stories...oh ya and ice fishing...when my sweetie comes home from ice fishing, he is usually starving for something hearty.

So today I put together one of his favorites, Double Meat Lasagna. It is very easy to put together and actually tastes better the next day (well in my humble opinion).

Now, I am not Italian. So please don't send me posts about how this isn't authentic Italian. I know it isn't so I beat you to the punch. I don't know why my mom did this but she used to use cottage cheese instead of  ricotta.So that is how I grew up eating it. While playing around with different recipes I found the combination of the two if what I like the most. My kids love it. Friends love it. So just try it and don't tell kids that there is something like cottage cheese in it.


Here is the recipe folks.....Enjoy.

1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TBSP oil
2 lbs of meat ( I usually do half sweet sausage, half hot sausage. You can use any meat combination you prefer)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I prefer Redpack tomatoes)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 box of Barilla flat lasagna no cook noodles
15 oz. of whole milk ricotta
15 oz. cottage cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese plus 1/2 cup to put on top
1 lb of fresh mozzarella sliced into 16 pieces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Warm the olive oil and saute the onions until they are nice and fragrant.Add the garlic and cook for two minutes. Make sure you don't burn it. Add the meat and break into small pieces. Brown it all the way through. Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes to thicken it. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In the meantime, mix the beaten egg with the ricotta, cottage cheese, pepper and 1 cup of Parmesan.

Take your 9x13 pan and ladle 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom. It is not going to be a very thick layer. Lay the dry, uncooked noodles over the top. (it should take 4 noodles). Lay 8 mozzarella pieces on top, followed by half of the ricotta-cottage cheese mixture, and a third of the sauce. Cover with 4 more noodles, rest of the mozzarella, cheese mixture and finish with the rest of the meat sauce. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan on top. Bake until nice and bubbly, usually 25-35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes prior to cutting it.

Bon Appetit!