First and foremost, I am very grateful for my mom giving me this recipe and allowing me to post it on my blog. Kevin is also very grateful that she shared the recipe with me.
Mom’s Lasagna
I use a 9×13 metal cake pan for my lasagna, but Mom makes a thicker batch with a few less noodles in an 8×8 Pyrex. Her Pyrex is a bit too small for me, but I have to tear some of the noodles to fit correctly. Both have pros & cons, but both turn out really well. I’m sure whatever pan you have will be lovely.
Ingredients:
Cheese Bowl
- 16 oz 1% (or 2%) cottage cheese, “small curd” is best
- 1 egg
- 1 and 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (my mom uses 2 cups, but I tried to lighten it)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Sauce Bowl
- 1 bag of Morningstar Veggie Crumbles (my fav)
- 1 jar of any red pasta sauce
Other
- Approx 10 lasagna noodles (depending on your pan and desired thickness)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or however much you like), keep this apart from the “cheese bowl”
Directions:
- Cook noodles. In the meantime, “brown” the crumbles in a nonstick pan (or just add a little oil). Add oregano and garlic if preferred, but that’s totally not necessary. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all “cheese bowl” ingredient.
- When veggie crumbles are heated through, pour in sauce. Mix in pan and remove from heat.
- Spread 1/4 of sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan. Put down first layer of noodles.
***From Here It’s Guess Work Depending On How Many Layers + Size/Shape of Pan***
- Spread 1/2 cheese mixture on noodles. Top with more noodles. Spread 1/2 sauce mix on noodles.
- Layer more noodles, followed by the remaining cheese mixture.
- Layer last bit of noodles then remaining sauce.
- Bake 30 minutes covered. Top with reserved Parmesan cheese. Bake 10 minutes uncovered, or until hot and bubbly.
I know this recipe seems to have a lot of approximations, but it really depends on how cheesy, saucy, or noodle-y you like it. You could also saute a little onion and zucchini in the pan prior to adding the veggie crumbles if you want. It’s totally up to you, and to be honest, I change it just a bit every time. (I always use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, but that’s because cottage cheese goes over much better in my family. Good call, Mom!)
As always, if you try this, let me know if you like it!
August 7, 2012 at 7:42 am
Get.in.my.face!!!!!! My friend is proper Italian and when his mom came over from Italy we have never eaten so well, or gained so much weight in 2 days, lol.
YUM!
August 7, 2012 at 7:52 am
Omg yuuuummm!!
August 7, 2012 at 8:05 am
Two things my mom has mastered? Lasagna and meat loaf. No idea how she does it. And she totally uses cottage cheese, too. I dated a guy who’s mom used ricotta (which I feel like in the norm) and he couldn’t understand how cottage cheese was used. lol
August 7, 2012 at 8:10 am
We always use cottage cheese too!! SO much better
August 7, 2012 at 9:35 am
Yum, this looks so good! Thanks t oyour mom
Ps, I nominated you for teh Liebster Award!
August 7, 2012 at 10:05 am
I love lasagna! this sounds good. I always use cottage cheese, it’s the best!
August 7, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I heart lasagna!! Thanks mom
August 7, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Yum! I bet my moms is better though
August 7, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Yum! You can’t beat homemade lasagna!
August 8, 2012 at 10:10 am
Is being famous for your lasagna a requirement for being a mom?
If you ask my mom (AND my stepmom come to think of it), it might be.
August 8, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Ah, ultimate comfort food! YUM.
August 9, 2012 at 7:08 am
Ok, this is awesome. I would never have thought to incorporate cottage cheese into lasagna! One question though, what exactly is veggie crumble? I’m not from the States so will be looking to find an alternative that would work.
August 9, 2012 at 7:12 pm
I’m not sure if other brands are as good, but I use Morningstar Farms frozen veggie crumbles. It is a sub for one pound of extra-lean beef, which also tastes pretty good when browned and drained.
August 9, 2012 at 8:55 pm
There is nothing more comforting than a wonderful pan of lasagna! Delish!