Ellens Killer Lasagna Food

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

"KILLER" LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown the sausage and ground meat and drain all the fat.
• Add all the other ingredients for the meat filling and simmer on the stove, uncovered, for about 1/2 hour.
• I usually add a bay leaf or two.
• Mix up the cheese filling and set aside in fridge until ready to use.
• Put the noodles in salted water and cook until soft when poked with a fork.
• When the noodles are done, drain the noodles and rinse off with cold water so they can be handled easily.
• Spray the baking pan with a non-stick spray and put a layer of noodles down on the bottom of the pan. It is OK to cut some of the noodles to fit into the pan if they do not fit whole.
• Spread half the cheese filling over the noodels, then half of the mozarella cheese on top of that, then half of the meat sauce over the grated mozarella cheese.
• REPEAT layers and then top with more mozarella cheese.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
• Leftovers can be easily stored in the freezer.

ELLEN'S NOODLESS LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan, and drain off the oil. Add the spaghetti sauce and mushrooms, and simmer 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and Italian seasoning. Beat well with a fork.
• Grease an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the beef mixture in the bottom of the dish. Spread the ricotta mixture on top of the beef mixture. Lay half the pepperoni slices on top of the ricotta mixture. Put remaining 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella over the pepperoni slices, and lay the remaining pepperoni on top of the cheese.
• Bake until bubbly (about 20 minutes).

BETTER BEEF LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well then lay out on waxed paper to prevent them from sticking to each other.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 3 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate, discarding any fat remaining in the pan.
• Add the oil to the same pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Return the meat to the pan. Stir in 2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the salt, the pepper and nutmeg.
• Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top, touching but not overlapping. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Add another layer of noodles. Top with half the beef-mushroom mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles, then remaining cheese mixture, more noodles, then remaining beef mixture and finally 1 more layer of noodles. Top the final layer of noodles with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the grated cheeses. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.
• Excellent source of: Protein, Fiber, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc
• Good source of: Folate, Copper, Magnesium