Extra Easy Lasagna

Recipe Name: Extra Easy Lasagna

Story: Lasagna is one of those things that is 100x time better when made at home, so I've been trying to modify a recipe that is both easy to make and really good.

Years you've been making it: Since 2018 or so

Author / Creator: 
https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/extra-easy-lasagna

Submitted by: Dustin

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound lean ground beef (up to 1.5 lbs)
• 4 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce (or make your own, see below)
• Uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup hot water

Directions: 

1. Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.
2. Mix ricotta cheese and egg and a couple pinches of black pepper
3. Spread one-third of meat sauce in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; layer with 3 noodles and half each of ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. (The ricotta cheese layers will be thin.) Repeat procedure; spread remaining one-third of meat sauce over mozzarella cheese. Slowly pour 1/4 cup hot water around inside edge of dish. Tightly cover baking dish with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
4. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: 

• Added frozen spinach to meat / sauce mixture (microwaved spinach, then squeezed out excess liquid)
• Used italian ground sausage instead of ground beef
• I prefer to make 3 layers instead of cheese / noodles instead of 2 (so divided cheese into thirds)
• I also add shredded mozz to the top of the lasagna too, the top being just the meat mixture is kinda odd to me

Order of Lasagna build if doing 3 layers of cheese / noodles (from bottom to top):

1. 1/4 meat
2. Noodles
3. 1/3 ricotta
4. 1/4 mozz
5. 1/4 meat
6. Noodles
7. 1/3 ricotta
8. 1/4 mozz
9. 1/4 meat
10. Noodles
11. 1/3 ricotta
12. 1/4 mozz
13. 1/4 meat
14. 1/4 mozz

Homemade tomato basil red sauce:
Store bought sauces are fine, some even pretty darn good these days, but this homemade sauce is really  really good.  You can double it too, and freeze whatever you don't use.
https://www.seriouseats.com/easy-italian-amercian-red-sauce-recipe