How to Make: "Lasagna"

I was sick over the weekend and my cool roommate Chad Korb was kind of enough to help take care of me.....so when I got better I thought I'd be nice and make his favorite dish.."Lasagna"

I've never really made it before but I know I got mad skills in the kitchen...and I'm good at following directions....so watch the video and laugh and learn! -Lukas Seely

For my tomato meat sauce:

• 2 28 oz. cans tomatoes - I typically do one can diced, one crushed for a little bit of texture!
• 1-2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 large onion
• garlic, garlic, garlic - I always use a ton! I'd say two cloves minimum!
• 1 lb. ground beef, preferably lean
• dried oregano
• crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper
• fresh basil - dried can also be substituted!

For the rest of the lasagna:

• 1 package of noodles (should be around a pound in weight)
• 1 lb. mozzarella
• 1/2 lb. good quality parmesan
• 1 lb. ricotta cheese

Hardware:

• large sauce pan or dutch oven to make sauce in
• 13x9 baking dish
• large pot for boiling pasta

Making the meat Sauce:

Roughly dice the onion, and mince as much garlic as you want. I used eight cloves.

Once this is done, throw the ground beef brick into a pan over medium heat and cook until browned. If a lot of fat seeps out, drain most of it. You need only a few tablespoons of fat to cook the onion and garlic in.

Once you've drained the extra fat, throw in the onions, garlic, some salt and pepper, and a good amount of crushed red pepper.

Stir this around for a few minutes over medium heat until the onions become soft. Then add in a few good pinches of oregano and a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. (I'm using the concentrated kind, so not as much.)

Now, open both cans of tomatoes and dump them in. Mix it around for a moment, and bring to a light boil. Watch out for splatters!

Lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for approx. 45 minutes while you do the rest of the prep!


Prep the greens and cheese and stuff:

Get a pot of water boiling and cook the pasta according to the lowest number on the package directions. You don't want them to be soggy! Once the pasta is done, drain them well and separate the noodles as much as you can. Otherwise they get quite sitcky!

While the pasta is boiling, grate the cheese if you chose to do so yourself. I love grating cheese.

Your sauce should be done at this point, so turn off the heat, check the seasonings and add anything extra that you want. I'm adding fresh basil because I love the way it tastes.

If you choose to do basil, roll the leaves up and then cut them with kitchen shears over the pot, or with a small knife and then transfer to the pot.

Now we can start assembling!

Finishing the Lasagna:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make sure your cheeses, noodles and sauce are all within easy reach.

Ladle just enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan with liquid. Then place four noodles on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping. If they're broken, piece them together as much as possible. Spread 1/4 of the ricotta over the noodles, and then 1/4 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the parmesan.

Now you'll put more sauce over the cheese and then noodles, and ricotta, etc. You repeat the basic build three times.

On the fourth and final level, do ricotta cheese, then the rest of the sauce, topped with the rest of the cheese.

Now bake at 400 F for 40 minutes. Let rest for at least ten minutes