Classic Italian Lasagna- fun to make and try!

Classic Italian Lasagna

(melskitchencafe.blogspot.com)

Red Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 t garlic powder)
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a mix of dried oregano and basil) (I threw in some ready-made spaghetti seasoning instead so I knew I liked the red sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

White Sauce:

• 3 cups milk (not skim, I used 1%)
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 12 of the no-boil noodles, of which I far prefer the Barilla brand)
• 1 pound ground turkey or beef
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or with a napkin dipped lightly in olive oil and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart into pieces with a wooden spoon. When turkey is cooked through, drain the grease and set aside.
3. In a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When oil/butter is hot, add the garlic, stirring constantly. When the garlic is lightly browned, but NOT burned, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the vegetables are soft and browned and the fluid has mostly cooked out. Remove from heat and either using a handheld immersion blender or transferring the vegetables to a blender, blend the vegetables to a paste-like mixture. Return the pot to the heat (pour the pureed vegetables back in, if using a stand-alone blender) and add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Then add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and let the sauce sauce simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Right before using the red sauce in the lasagna, stir in the reserved ground turkey.
4. Also while the red sauce is cooking, melt the four tablespoons butter and when melted, add the flour, stirring constantly to combine and letting the mixture cook, while stirring, for a minute or two. Gradually add in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the white sauce, ensuring it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan, while cooking it over medium heat. Continue slowly stirring or whisking while the white sauce cooks and thickens quite a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of mozzarella for good luck, if you wish!
5. To begin layering the lasagna, keep in mind that you’ll have three layers of noodles as well as three layers of the sauces and cheese – so plan on splitting all the sauce and cheese piles into thirds so you don’t run out at the end! On the bottom of your lightly greased baking pan, layer three pre-boiled noodles or four no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping the no-boil noodles. Layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spreading all to the edges and top with another layer of noodles. Again, layer the red sauce, white sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and top with the final layer of noodles. Layer the sauces and cheeses again.
6. Cover the lasagna with a greased layer of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

I know this recipe takes a little time but it is so much more interesting (to me) to spend a little time making something NEW. We were very impressed with this lasagna, and the kids loved it. Us adults did, too.

Italian Shells

Italian Turkey Stuffed Shells
(picture and recipe from goodthingsutah.com)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small onion, minced

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (cut up and big pieces)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (I used about half)

1 tablespoon dried basil (I cut in half)

2 teaspoons dried oregano (I also cut this in half)

1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

4 cups shredded Italian Style cheese (I used 2 cups from the Italian Blend cheese package)

12 large shell pasta and drain

1 pound of cooked browned ground turkey (or beef)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Brown and drain the ground turkey.
   
3. Boil the water and cook the Large shelled pasta, drain and rinse with cold water.
4. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until translucent, about three minutes.
   
5. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, mushrooms, and 4 cups of the shredded cheese. Cook until the cheese has melted, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is cooking, add the cooked turkey.
6. Place the pasta in a 9x13 inch glass dish sprayed with cooking spray. Spoon the mixture into the shells, saving sauce to spoon around the shell pasta.

Cover the top of the dish with foil. Bake in the preheated oven about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with green salad or green beans and bread.

I saw this recipe on Good Things Utah. We thought it was great! I halved the cheese, didn't melt it before putting it in the oven, browned the onions with the ground turkey instead of separately to save time. The ground turkey is pretty healthy and cheap, too. It tasted good in this recipe! I cut the seasonings in half just to make it less potent for the kids. Season to preference.

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