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[BigDave83]

Well I asked the GF about making or buying and after answering her questions I decided to start with bought sauce and work up from there. I wanted a 22" blackstone that walmart had on a black friday deal of some sort. I think it will work to put the bakerstone pizza oven one. I think I have been to walmart more this year than I have in previous 12 years combined.

We went and I got 4 pound of whole milk ricotta and will mix in some cottage and eggs, got 3 boxes of noodles so I have probably 4 total. For sauce I found Classico Tomato Basil in 44oz jars, picked up 3 of them.

The thing that really made me think was, as we were heading to the check out they had fresh baked french bread for $1. These were probably 15" or so long and 3" in diameter. I looked at them and said even if they were $2 it would be cheaper to buy 2 or 3 of them for the garlic bread than to make my own, when factoring in time. So not sure what route I will go with that. If I didn't have Dr. appointments for my foot every Wednesday I would for sure just make bread, but they usually take a lot of the morning depending on the appointment time. So that will factor in to that decision.

[Kristin Meredith]

I think the fresh made store bought French bread loaves are great for garlic bread.  If you wanted to go extra fancy, make it cheese garlic bread!

[BigDave83]

I think the fresh made store bought French bread loaves are great for garlic bread.  If you wanted to go extra fancy, make it cheese garlic bread!

I sometimes will grate and add some parm in my spread I put on. Or are you talking of topping it with cheese?

[hughver]

I very seldom make  lasagna but I do make a killer pasta sauce. It's a little heavy in prep time but has always been worth it. I normally use dried herbs.

4 Tbs.      Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs.           Ground beef, extra lean
1/2 lb.      Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbs.      Fennel seeds
1/2 tps.        Cayenne pepper
1              Bay leaf
1 Tbs.      Fresh parsley, chopped or 1 Tbs. dried
3 Tbs.      Fresh basil, chopped or 1 Tbs.  dried
3 Tbs.      Fresh oregano, chopped or 1 Tbs. dried
1tsp.                 Dried thyme
1tsp                  Dried rosemary (ground if whole)
8oz.                  sliced black olives
2                      diced carrots
1              Large onion, chopped
1              Green bell pepper, chopped
3              Stalks of celery, chopped
½  lb.      Fresh mushrooms, sliced
4              Cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
2              14 oz. cans Italian plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
1              14 oz. can tomato sauce
1              6 oz. tomato paste
½  cup      Dry red wine
As Req'd           Low salt chicken broth   


In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add beef, sausage, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, pepper and Fennel seeds, sauté until meat is brown and cooked thoroughly. Transfer meat mixture from skillet to six quart Dutch oven. Add chopped vegetables to same skillet and sauté until tender. Combine tomato products, vegetables and wine in Dutch oven with meat mixture and simmer for two hours. If additional liquid is required, add chicken broth to obtain optimum consistency. Serve over pasta that is cooked until it is still slightly firm to the bite.

[Kristin Meredith]

I think the fresh made store bought French bread loaves are great for garlic bread.  If you wanted to go extra fancy, make it cheese garlic bread!

I sometimes will grate and add some parm in my spread I put on. Or are you talking of topping it with cheese?

I am talking about topping it with a layer of something like grated mozzarella.

[Kristin Meredith]

Hugh your recipe sounds great.  Have you posted it in the recipe section?

[Hank D Thoreau]

What surprises me about the recipes being mentioned is the lack of cheeses like mozzarella, romano, parmesan, provolone.  Kristin mentioned a layer of mozzarella which I think is pretty standard.

It can get a bit pricey but you can find pre-grated options for most of these cheeses that are fairly economical.

Maybe these cottage cheese recipes replace most of the Italian cheeses.

We know an Italian family that runs a winery in Romona. I'll have to ask them what cheeses they use. We picked grapes for them and they fed us lasagna.

[Bentley]

My lasagna always called for the pasta, then meat, then the 3 cheeses...mozzarella, peck/parma, and ricotta blend, repeat! Always felt a 4 layer was just about right.  And yes, I did enjoy a 50/50 blend of good GB and my Sweet Italian Sausage!

[BigDave83]

I very seldom make  lasagna but I do make a killer pasta sauce. It's a little heavy in prep time but has always been worth it. I normally use dried herbs.

4 Tbs.      Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs.           Ground beef, extra lean
1/2 lb.      Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbs.      Fennel seeds
1/2 tps.        Cayenne pepper
1              Bay leaf
1 Tbs.      Fresh parsley, chopped or 1 Tbs. dried
3 Tbs.      Fresh basil, chopped or 1 Tbs.  dried
3 Tbs.      Fresh oregano, chopped or 1 Tbs. dried
1tsp.                 Dried thyme
1tsp                  Dried rosemary (ground if whole)
8oz.                  sliced black olives
2                      diced carrots
1              Large onion, chopped
1              Green bell pepper, chopped
3              Stalks of celery, chopped
½  lb.      Fresh mushrooms, sliced
4              Cloves of garlic, chopped or minced
2              14 oz. cans Italian plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
1              14 oz. can tomato sauce
1              6 oz. tomato paste
½  cup      Dry red wine
As Req'd           Low salt chicken broth   


In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add beef, sausage, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, pepper and Fennel seeds, sauté until meat is brown and cooked thoroughly. Transfer meat mixture from skillet to six quart Dutch oven. Add chopped vegetables to same skillet and sauté until tender. Combine tomato products, vegetables and wine in Dutch oven with meat mixture and simmer for two hours. If additional liquid is required, add chicken broth to obtain optimum consistency. Serve over pasta that is cooked until it is still slightly firm to the bite.

I will copy this and try it sometime for just us, it looks pretty tasty. Thank you.

[BigDave83]

What surprises me about the recipes being mentioned is the lack of cheeses like mozzarella, romano, parmesan, provolone.  Kristin mentioned a layer of mozzarella which I think is pretty standard.

It can get a bit pricey but you can find pre-grated options for most of these cheeses that are fairly economical.

Maybe these cottage cheese recipes replace most of the Italian cheeses.

We know an Italian family that runs a winery in Romona. I'll have to ask them what cheeses they use. We picked grapes for them and they fed us lasagna.

I will be getting probably 2 to 2.5# each of Mozzarella, Provolone and Brick to shred. Will also get some Parm and grate

[Hank D Thoreau]

Now we're  cooking. Sounds like it will be an excellent lasagna.

[Hank D Thoreau]

All this talk of lasagna gave me the urge, so I made a huge one today, using my largest baking pan. I made one mistake, forgetting to save some cheese to crust on top, but it still tasted great.

I used a mix of ricotta, mozzarella, romano, and parmesan with fresh parsley mixed in. The sauce was a modified tomato basil with ground beef and onions mixed in.

We will eat like kings for the next couple of days.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I don't make lasagna often, but when we do I will save some for leftovers.  I cut it into squares or rectangles after cooked and then refrigerated, wrap in plastic wrap, and put into freezer bags.  Pull a serving out at a time from the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner.

[hughver]

FWIW, I've found that the brand of canned tomatoes has a lot of influence on the final product. don't go cheap, buy the best .