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Bad Photo Sunday – American Lasagna
May 11
This is my all-time favorite lasagna recipe. (At least until I find the next best one!!) This is one I’ve actually been making for years – one of those Tried and True recipes. It’s another one of those Allrecipes gems that one member of my family discovered years ago, and now all of us make it.
And I actually made it last year. Yes, ladies and gentlemen - last year. You know, you start a little food blog one day, thinking that you’ll just post everything for yourself to remind you of what you made. And then you start visiting lots of other food blogs, and then people start to visit yours. Before you know it, you are trying your hardest to make your pictures look appetizing, and if they don’t, you just keep skipping right over them. Thank goodness I started Bad Photo Sundays – because I’d hate to not share this recipe!!
This is definitely not a traditional lasagna – hence the name American Lasagna – but it is oh, so delicious! I think the secret ingredient is the brown sugar. It doesn’t make the lasagna sweet, but it brings something extra to it that I haven’t had from any other lasagna. The other secret to this lasagna is that you want to make it the night before – up to the baking step – refrigerate it, and then bake it the next day. I’ve tried it both ways (waiting overnight and cooking the night of) and having it sit overnight really does make a huge difference. And I do what normally do in recipes like this – I do part ground beef and part sausage to add some extra flavor instead of just ground beef.
American Lasagna
adapted from allrecipes1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
12 dry lasagna noodles
2 eggs, beaten
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheeseIn a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry.
In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt.
Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top.* Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
*If baking the next night, this is when you would cover and refrigerate. You might need to increase the cooking time by 15 minutes.
29 Responses to “Bad Photo Sunday – American Lasagna”
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Mary said on May 11th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I don’t know why you put this on a “bad photo Sunday”. I think it looks WAY delicious!
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Katie said on May 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Why bad photo? It looks GREAT!
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Rosie said on May 11th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
It looks GREAT to me your photo and the Lasagna I could eat asap!!
Rosie x
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Veron said on May 11th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
um…it does not look like a bad photo to me because I would love to eat it right out of my screen!
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Sylvie said on May 11th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Lasagne is a hard one to photograph, I think you did a great job though. I certainly makes me wanna grab a fork and tuck right in!
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Ginny said on May 11th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I think we are often our own worse critics…the photo looks great! I would come over for dinner in a second!
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Brilynn said on May 11th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
There are no bad lasagna pictures! I can almost taste it from here! And brown sugar sounds intriguing…
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Joy said on May 11th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
There’s nothing bad about that photo – it makes me want to grab a big old spoon and dig in!
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Kevin said on May 11th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
That looks good! Lasagna is one of my favorite meals. The use of the brown sugar is interesting.
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Jessy and her dog Winnie said on May 11th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Nice photo! Lol. I bet the brown sugar adds a very unique flavor.
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Emiline said on May 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Ha. Your bad photos are better than most people’s good photos. Shhh…don’t tell anyone I said that.
I’m kidding. No offense to anyone.How I love lasagna! This looks amazing!
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chocolate shavings said on May 12th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I haven’t had lasagna in a while and this really makes me wonder why!
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glamah16 said on May 12th, 2008 at 12:47 am
This is a very unique adaptation. Especially the ‘wait’ time before cooking and the brown sugar. Im going to have to try this out.
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Katie B. said on May 12th, 2008 at 2:11 am
I agree – I think your lasanga looks delicious!
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noble pig said on May 12th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Okay seriously, all these so called bad photos are making me hungry. They are rustic and lovely and pass the sauce yummy.
Looks fab. Again.
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Gretchen Noelle said on May 12th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Although I have my always make-tried & true lasagna recipe…10+ years with slight alterations…I am intrigued. Brown sugar? Must wait? Can’t help but wonder…and I just might make it to try it out!
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Jenny said on May 12th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Deborah,
This lasagna looks gorgeous to me and delicious! I haven’t made lasagna for a long time, you’ve inspired me to get to work! This sounds like a great recipe!![Reply]
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PheMom said on May 12th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Looks good to me too with all that browned cheesy goodness! We were closer to your neck of the woods today and went up the canyon to hike around by Mt Timp today. It was such a beautiful day (and now tonight the wind is screaming!). Oh well, hope you had a great day!
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Arundathi said on May 12th, 2008 at 9:19 am
thats not a bad photo (i better not show you any of my bad photos!!) – lol – looks delicious. sitting lasagna sit overnight is a something that I do too, and it really improves the taste! first time here and i love your blog!
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Grace said on May 12th, 2008 at 9:43 am
can lasagna ever be considered ugly? i submit that it cannot. well, unless it was burnt to a crisp. or in a heap on a dirty floor.
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Dhanggit said on May 12th, 2008 at 11:43 am
my favorite, lasagNNNAA!! i love them, the weather here is quite bad;;good thing i have this lasagna to give me a smile..i agree with you on adding sugar on salty dishes. i heard one time a chef that for salty dishes we could add up a tsp of sugar to bring out the best on its taste and vice versa for some sweet dishes a pinch of salt will definitely do the trick..you call if bad photo i call it good appetite!! yum
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Ruth Elkin said on May 12th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Bad Photo? It looks like a perfect dish to me!!!! I love lasagna!
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Megan said on May 12th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I’m definetly trying it. The picture and the brown sugar sold me!
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Elle said on May 12th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
What are you talking about? It looks great! And I’m not sure if i could wait overnight to bake this…
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kimberleyblue said on May 12th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I love lasagna – one of my favs. I usually make a veggie one, but the addition of sausage in this one has me wanting meat!
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Patricia Scarpin said on May 12th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Deb, one of my husband’s absolute favorite dishes. It looks so scrumptious!
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dobetter said on May 12th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Looks like the perfect lasagna! I love all recipes too.
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Vicarious Foodie said on May 14th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I was out of town on Sunday so am just now getting to this, but I knew I’d have to make it a point to stop by for bad photo Sunday!
Why is it so hard to take pictures of things made in casserole dishes? It’s so unfair, because I really love casseroles. How do magazines get their pictures of lasagna to look so good? I don’t think the lasagnas have actually been baked–in fact, I bet the noodles haven’t even really been cooked.
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Dana McCauley said on May 15th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
There’s really no such thing as a bad lasagna photo – unless it has been pre-chewed. That, indeed, would be ugly.
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