LASAGNA

Whenever I dine in pizza restaurants, I am usually inclined to order beef lasagnas. I could not bake my own lasagna in the past without a whole lot of disasters, and all my efforts did not pay off as the end results were disappointing. I did not know there were lasagna sheets that required no cooking before hand. So for years I did not attempt this dish :( ... until I learned that there were such hassle-free lasagna sheets available in supermarkets :) Yea! Now the whole family can eat lasagna for about the same price of one (ok, maybe three) serving we usually pay in restaurants. And I can add as much cheese as I want!

This is the one I am using

There are two main sauces to prepare for lasagnas. One is the meat pasta sauce, and the other is the creamy white sauce. For the meat pasta sauce you can choose to cook from scratch or use bottled pasta sauces. Erm... As I normally cook such dishes on Sundays after church, I do not have enough time to cook from scratch for lunch. A bottled pasta sauce comes in handy in times like these. And today I only have shredded mozzarella and cheddar slices in my fridge (I could not find the mixed shredded cheeses the other day) I just have to do with what I have.
For the creamy sauce, cream is good but fattening. I replace with full cream / UHT milk for a healthier choice. Do not use low-fat or non-fat milk.

LASAGNA

Ingredients

Meat Pasta Sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

350g minced meat (beef or pork or chicken)

680g bottled pasta sauce

250ml water

2 tbsp oil

Marinate

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

Dash of pepper and salt

Creamy White Sauce

10g butter

1 tbsp plain flour

1/2 cup full cream milk

3/4 cup stock (I used water and added 1/2 stock cube)

Pepper and salt to taste

Instant lasagna sheets

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Shredded Cheddar cheese (or sliced)

Method

Prepare meat pasta sauce:

1. Marinate minced meat and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. In a hot pan, add oil and fry garlic and onion over low heat, until onion becomes translucent.

3. Over medium heat, add tomatoes and fry till softened. Add dried herbs.

4. Stir in minced meat, break up the pieces and fry till browned.

5. Pour in pasta sauce and water. Stir to combine and let simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the fire.

Prepare creamy white sauce

1. In heavy based pot, melt butter over low heat.

2. Add in flour and whisk till combined.

3. Bring the pot away from stove, pour in milk in a stream and stir as you pour. Keep stirring till mixture is smooth.

4. Bring pot back to stove, turn up heat to medium. Pour in stock and bring to a light boil. Keep stirring until the the mixture is thickened. Add pepper and salt.

Assembly

1. Pour some pasta and white sauces at base of a baking dish. Make sure the sauces cover the surface area of the base.

I lined the baking tray for easy cleaning

2. Lay the lasagna sheet in a single layer.

3. Top with some pasta and white sauces. Make sure all the pasta sheets are well covered.

4. Sprinkle shredded cheeses.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 to reach top of baking dish, ending with the sauces and cheeses. 

I had four layers

 (You must lay enough sauces for every layer, otherwise the pasta sheet may not cook through.)

6. Preheat oven to 200C and bake for 20 min. Let the lasagna rest for another 10 min before serving. Bon appetit!