Friday, February 8, 2013

Lasagna + Happy First Birthday to Peaches & Cream!

Peaches & Cream turns 1 today!  Happy Blogiversary to US!!  We are extremely pleased and proud of the work we’ve put in over the last year and the friendships that we’ve made.   Bonding over a passion for baking and cooking is something we never thought was possible, but it is!  We’ve learned so much and hope to continue to grow as a food bloggers.  Thank you all for your readership and support-word’s cannot express how much it means to us that you’ve included us in your life (and your kitchens)!  We absolutely love when people comment or provide feedback on recipes we’ve posted-it seriously brightens up our day.  So thank you all-and I’ve said this before-we love you lots!

Cheers to a wonderful Year 1, and on with Year 2!

I’ve held on to this recipe for the past year as I only make lasagna once in a blue moon.  Poor Gavin, it’s one of his favorites!  I actually really, really love lasagna but find that it’s so labor intensive. Gavin struck it lucky last month-I ended up scheduling it twice…something that may not happen again!

I bought these cute little oval dishes earlier last month while visiting Marlina.  I love them!  So cute!  The possibilities are endless.  I was dreaming of what I could do with them and lasagna crossed through my mind.  I had already made lasagna a 9X13 inch pan already, so I decided to half to recipe and use them.  The recipe makes a little bit more meat sauce than what you need, but you could save it and use the remainder for spaghetti.  Trust me; you won’t mind having some leftover!!

Lasagna

Makes 2 oval shaped dishes (if recipe is doubled-makes 1 9X13 inch pan)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef

200 grams hot Italian sausage

1 medium sized onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

4 white button mushrooms, sliced thinly

400 ml crushed tomatoes

200 ml tomato paste

¼ cup water

¾ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon sugar

1 ¼ cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

1 ½ cup mozzarella, shredded, plus 8 mozzarella slices

7 lasagna noodles, cooked el dente

DIRECTIONS

In a medium sized saucepot, cook the ground beef & sausage over medium heat. Drain the excess fat and add in the onions, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook until for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the celery, carrot and mushrooms. Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water and seasonings. Once the mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1-1½, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, parsley. Season with salt & pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble:

Spread the meat sauce just to cover the bottom of the dish. Arrange the lasagna noodles over the meat sauce, trimming to fit the dish. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture then top with half the mozzarella slices. Spoon meat sauce over the mozzarella slices and top with another layer of noodles. Top with more of the meat sauce and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Repeat with the second oval shaped dish.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes (I had a baking sheet underneath to catch any of the sauce overflowing). Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

Source: A Peaches & Cream Original