Peters Foodie Shares Favorite Lasagna Recipe

Today is National Lasagna Day! Pittsburgh area Patch editors are particularly excited for the occasion, so we went to Peters Patch food blogger for one of her favorite recipes.

The traditional Italian dish is typically made with layers of flat pasta sheets, sauce and cheese, but there are variations aplenty—including Giada De Laurentiis' Butternut Squash Lasagna (which is delicious, I might add). 

So what's your favorite type of layered goodness? Traditional with meat sauce? Four cheese? Vegetable? Greek lasagna—Pastitsio with Béchamel sauce? Stouffers? Your family's century-old recipe? Tell us in the comments! 

Here's a quick and easy recipe for Lasagne with Marinara Sauce, courtesy of resident Nicky D Cooks. Cue the red wine! 

Barilla Four Layer No-Boil Lasagne (adapted recipe from food.com)

Ingredients:

• About 5 cups marinara sauce (recipe below) or 2 jars of sauce 
• 1 box (9 oz.) Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles 
• 1 lb. ground beef or ground sausage, cooked to crumbles and drained 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (divided) 
• 15 oz. container ricotta cheese 
• 1/2 cup grated Italian cheese (Parmesan or whatever cheese you like) 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray. 
• In medium bowl, beat two eggs, and combine with ricotta with 2 cups of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Set aside. 
• Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in pan. Cover with 4 noodles, overlapping a bit as necessary. 
• Spread with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the meat over top, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup marinara over that. Keep repeating this combination until the last layer (all of the meat and ricotta mixture will be gone). 
• Cover the top layer with the last 4 noodles. Spread remaining marinara over top, completely covering noodles. 
• Sprinkle last 1 cup of mozzarella over top. Cover pan with aluminum foil. 
• Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until bubbling. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown. 

Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce (Marinara Sauce)

Ingredients: 

• 2 medium garlic cloves—smashed and 2 cloves garlic minced 
• 26 oz. Pomi Strained tomatoes or 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes  
• A small handful of fresh basil leaves, or dried basil to taste 
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (twice around the pan) 
• Coarse salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the whole garlic until the garlic becomes golden brown—remove and discard the garlic.  
• Add the tomatoes to the olive oil and stir. Add the minced garlic and fresh basil and season with salt and pepper. 
• Continue to simmer the tomatoes for approximately 15-20 minutes on low heat and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.  
• Check the sauce at this time, add more salt and pepper if necessary (you can also add a pinch of sugar to help sweeten the sauce).  
• Continue cooking for several more minutes. The sauce will be done when the flavors come together—no bitterness or raw tomato taste.

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