Lasagne for me is the ultimate comfort food, sure there are a few steps to getting it on the table but it is so worth it.
What you may know about me however is that I am not one for fancy techniques and with being a busy Mum I like to make things easy in the kitchen so I do cut a few corners that may offend the pure Lasagne fans out there!
And of course there are much easier ways too but this is my favourite!
One of my biggest kitchen helpers is Watties Traditional Pasta Sauce – the Tomato & Herb flavour is a constant in my pantry. I use it for the base for ALL my mince meals whether it is spaghetti bolognaise, shepherds pie, tacos, lasagne, you name it! I can make it more or less saucy with the addition of water and cooking it down depending on what I am needing it for.
The kids absolutely love the flavour, and since I never cook my mince with onion it provides a great flavour boost! I sometimes jazz it up with garlic or herbs depending on what I am making when I pop the oil in the pan. It is as simple as browning the mince in some oil, draining off the fat and juices once browned, adding a can of the pasta sauce, then half a can of water! Easy, do try it and let me know what you think!
My original Lasagne recipe that I used for years had tomato paste, sugar, whole canned tomatoes etc etc but using this one can has changed all that! Watties should pay me for the endorsement don’t you think.
So making a lasagne is 3 steps really, making the meat base, the lasagne or pasta and the cheese sauce. None of these are particularly hard but you can feel like a bit of a mutli tasker if you choose to have all 3 going at once – you can of course do one at a time so please make this however best fits your urge that day!
I use pasta sheets for my lasagne now, I add boiling water to a shallow dish then lay the pasta sheets into that briefly to just soften then using tongs I carefully add them to the layers. You can use lasagne pasta noodles as well, make as per packet instructions
The cheese sauce is something I always make a heap of and make it super cheesy – this lasagne is not going to win any prizes for the healthiest thing on the table, so serve it with salad and call it even…….and garlic bread, don’t forget the garlic bread…….
Cheese sauce is not something to be scared of if you haven’t made it before, it really is quite easy, and there are lots of variations out there, mine is super simple, but stay on hand to keep stirring it so that it does not stick to the bottom.
If you are making this for guests I always recommend that you make it earlier in the day and reheat it – simply because if you are anything like me you will use all your pots, saucepans and spoons!
This recipe makes a good sized dish so feel free to halve it if you are just making for a couple.
Any questions let me know, tell me what you do differently with your lasagne?
Just A Mum's Lovely Lasagne
Ingredients
- 1 Packet Lasagne Sheets
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Mixed Herbs
- 1kg Beef Mince
- 150 grams Mushrooms, washed and diced or grated (Optional)
- 1 Can Pasta Sauce
- 1 Can Tomato Chopped in Puree
- 60 Grams Butter
- 60 Grams Plain Flour
- 3 Cups Milk, 250 mls
- Salt & Pepper
- 2-3 Cups Grated Cheese (Strong Cheese, I use Tasty)
- 1/2 Cup Cheese for Topping
Instructions
Meat Base
- Preheat your oven to 210C Bake
- Grease a 33cm x 23 cm lasagne or roasting dish and set aside
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and herbs and cook gently for 1 minute.
- Add the mince and brown until cooked through.
- Add the pasta sauce and half a can of water, and the chopped tomatoes then stir carefully to fully combine.
- Simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes or until the liquid has slightly reduced, stirring often. Then remove from the heat and set aside.
Cheese sauce
- In a small saucepan add the butter and melt completely over a low heat then add the flour to the melted butter and mix well.
- Allow this mixture to slightly change colour and begin to gently bubble, then remove from the heat.
- Add the milk, half a cup at a time, whisking well between each addition to ensure no lumps.
- Once completely incorporated, put the saucepan back on the low-medium heat and allow the sauce to thicken, stirring often, can take up to 5 minutes.
- Once the sauce is thick and silky remove from the heat and season with a little salt and pepper. Add the first measure of cheese and whisk well to fully combine. Set aside until ready to assemble the dish.
To Assemble
- In a large lasagne dish lay a third of the meat sauce in a thin even layer, then spread over a thin layer of cheese sauce
- Add on top of this your lasagne sheets, I like to soak mine briefly in boiling water in a shallow dish, trim according to your dish size
- Repeat with the meat sauce, cheese sauce, and lasagne sheet, then the final layer is slightly different with the meat sauce, then lasagne sheets and finally the remainder of the cheese sauce, then sprinkle with the second measure of cheese
- Cook the lasagne in the preheated oven until golden brown - approximately 30-40 minutes.
- Serve the Lasagne hot with a green salad and garlic bread for a delicious meal
- This lasagne will freeze well. Simply allow to cool in the fridge, then slice into portion sizes and pop into ziplock bags or airtight containers and freeze. Allow to thaw in the fridge and reheat until piping hot when ready to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 735Total Fat: 52gSaturated Fat: 26gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 194mgSodium: 870mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 50g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
So yes I realise the recipe looks quite long and involved, but choose a day where you have plenty of time and enjoy the art of cooking, checking, stirring, smelling and tasting! It will be so worth it in the end
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Thank you so much for stopping by.
Happy Cooking!
Anna
Beth Bates says
Made recently, always wanted to find a good lasagne recipe, husband said it is the best ever!