Accompanied story, “DIY Rehearsal Dinner,” published 2-13-2014
7 jars of Paul Newman Tomato and Basil Marinara Sauce
5 pounds hamburger
2 pounds Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 large cartons of Ricotta cheese
1 large carton of cottage cheese
2 extra-large bags of mozzarella cheese
4 eggs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Chopped or sliced black olives
2 large boxes lasagna noodles
Olive oil
Extra spices:
2-4 tablespoons garlic powder
2-3 tablespoons basil
Cook hamburger and onion and mix with spaghetti sauce. Add 1 jar of water. Add extra spices and let simmer.
Cook Italian sausage. You may cook it with the hamburger, but you can layer it separately.
Cook lasagna noodles. Be careful not to overcook (underdone is better than overdone). When the noodles are done, rinse them and place them in cold water with a bit of olive oil.
Mix together: Ricotta, 4 eggs, Parmesan and about 3/4 of the cottage
cheese. Spray your pans with nonstick cooking spray and start layering your lasagna in this order: small amount of meat sauce; noodles--may overlap a little bit; Ricotta--coat each noodle, but not thickly; sprinkled mozzarella; (optional layer of black olives); meat sauce; Italian sausage--only 1 layer of sausage. Repeat, ending with sauce on top. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan, mozzarella, olives.
This makes more than enough lasagna for 50 people. You can use four medium-sized disposable aluminum roaster pans.
Bake covered at 350 degrees until done; about 60-75 minutes if you have one pan in the oven. Add another 1/2 hour if baking two pans in one oven and rotate them halfway through the baking time.
You may need less time if you bake them right after you assemble the lasagna. If you are baking the lasagna in 9-by-13-inch pans, adjust the cooking time. Generally, 30 minutes would be enough, but when cooking more than one pan in an oven, increase the time to about 45 minutes.
