Christmas Lasagna

I think I've only posted one other recipe on this blog... and that was little tongue in cheek because it was an instruction to go buy a brownie mix. :) Anyhoo, this is a real honest-to-goodness recipe that requires the use of pans and measuring cups and more than 3 ingredients.

I call this my Christmas lasagna because, after getting tired of having various hunks of meat for Christmas dinner, I decided to break out of the box. This recipe is what I choose and it was an instant hit.

It does take a long time to prepare, but trust me, it is worth it! The great thing is you can make it ahead of time when you're not stressed and just pop it in the oven when you're ready.

Just a few personal notes: (I'm starting to realize I never completely follow a recipe!)

- I have used ground beef (never pork) but I usually use ground turkey and it tastes great!
- I probably use more cheese because, well, cheese makes everything better. :)
- I don't like chunks of tomatoes (just a personal quirk) so I usually buy crushed tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes.

Anyway, happy cooking!

1 pound ground beed
6 ounces ground lean pork
¾ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (1 pound) tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil leaves
3 cups (two 12-oz. cartons) creamed cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 package (8 oz) lasagna noodles, cooked and well drained
¾ pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook and stir ground beef, ground pork, onion and garlic in large saucepan or Dutch oven until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off all fat.

Add tomatoes and break up with fork. Stir in tomato sauce, 2 tbsp. parlsey flakes, the sugar, 1 tsp. salt and the basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 1 hour or until mixture is the consistency of spaghetti sauce.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cottage cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp. parsley flakes, 1 ½ tsp. salt and the oregano. Reserve ½ cup meat sauce for thin top layer.

In ungreased baking pan (13x9x2 inches) layer ¼ each of the noodles, remaining meat sauce, the mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese mixture; repeat 3 times. Spread reserved meat sauce over top; sprinkle with ½ cup Parmesan cheese.

If desired, lasagna can be covered and refrigerated several hours at this point.

Bake uncovered 45 minutes. (Allow an additional 10-15 minutes if lasagna has been refrigerated.) For easier cutting, let stand 15 minutes after removing from oven.