Never Ending Lasagna

Never Ending Lasagna 

Lasagna is one of those dishes I love to make, because it lasts FOREVER! I like meals that leave you with leftovers for a day or two, it gives me a break from cooking to take care of other things around the house. Have you ever noticed though, that a lot of pasta dishes just taste so much better the next day, especially lasagna? YUM! It tastes so great when paired with buttered Italian bread also. Plus, I love this lasagna because it's super easy to make.

*NOTE: You can make this recipe with/out ground meat of your choice. I usually make it without meat but when I do I use half pack of ground turkey and half a pack of ground beef or ground Italian sausage. If you choose to use meat remember to incorporate it, into your layers method down below. 

Never Ending Lasagna

Prep: 20 mins Cook: 1 hour Total: 1 hr 20 mins

1 Whole Green Bell Pepper Diced

1 Whole Red Bell Pepper Diced

1 Medium Onion Diced

1 Family Size Marinara Sauce (1 1/2 if you like yours really saucy)

1 Tb. Garlic Powder

1 Tb. Italian Seasoning

1/2 Tb. Crushed Red Peppers

1/2 tsp. Sage

1/2 tsp. Thyme 

1 tsp. Salt (or seasoning salt)

1 Tb. Sugar (some may argue with me on this but I don't care I love it!)

1 Tb. Parsley 

1 Large Pack of Italian Cheeses (or 2 small packs)

1 Large Container of Ricotta Cheese

1 Small Container of Sour Cream

1 Box of lasagna noodles (1 1/2 boxes depending on how big of a lasagna you're making/ how much you're making) 

After you've diced your peppers and onion, go ahead and sauté them just until translucent in color. This step my mother taught me, it brings out the aromas of the vegetables and you're not crunching down on hard peppers and onions.

 While your vegetables are going in the pan, you can pour your sauce and spices/seasonings into a large mixing bowl, mixing them together well. In another mixing bowl, add ricotta and sour cream, mixing them together well also.

 Here's where your layering comes into play. It's messy and it doesn't have to be pretty. Start by putting some of your sauce at the bottom of your chosen baking dish. This ensures that your lasagna noodles do not stick to the bottom of your dish. Next put a layer of lasagna noodles all across your dish making sure the bottom is covered. Next spoon a layer of sauce across your noodles, and sprinkle some of your Italian Cheeses across this layer. Followed by another layer of noodles, then on that layer spoon your ricotta mixture. You're going to continue alternating between layers all the way to the top of your baking dish. If you finish with the ricotta mixture layer, add a thin layer of sauce to it and sprinkle with your Italian Cheese mixture.

 Next cover your lasagna with aluminum foil and place into your Preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 50 mins covered or until your desired tenderness of noodles, and 10 mins uncovered. Once done, let it rest for 15 mins, IF you can wait that long!