You Say Lasagna, I Say Gazonya

My favorite food as a child was Lasagna, or as I so adorably put it, Gazonya-- or as Jack very recently put it, Wazonya (he has recently conquered his L sound, however, and now says it the boring, big boy way).

Anyhoo, lasagna was my favorite food for the longest time.  I was proud of my mom for making such delicious lasagna, and told anyone who cared (and many who didn’t) that she had won a blue ribbon in a lasagna making contest.  She hadn’t actually ever entered any such contest, but I felt she should have, and I don’t feel guilty about the lie to this day.  Mostly.

So when I moved out and first attempted to make lasagna on my own for a guy I was dating (pre-Dave), I called mom and asked for the recipe. 

She told me she got it from the back of the San Giorgio Gazonya box.  Hmph.  A little bit of a let-down.

I made the lasagna (using the recipe on the back of the box—which is really no longer my recipe…I’ve made a few changes), and the guy liked it so much, that I sent some leftovers home with him.  And, to make sure that I would hear from him again, I sent it home with him on one of my good plates.   Kind of like dropping my glass slipper and forcing a return visit from the prince.  

However, I never heard from Prince Charming again, and I really don’t care so much except that it bugs me that I never got the plate back.  Darn Plate Stealer.  I wonder if he has a collection of date plates?  [Cut to daydream sequence with Rob, the plate stealer, showing his dating plunder to a friend:  “This one was from Beth, she made me some really awesome lasagna and this one was from Judy, she made lemon chicken, and oh!  This one was from Sherry.  Terrible beef stew.  I almost didn’t take the plate…”]

So the gazonya…

First of all, I use the the San Giorgio Oven Ready Lasagna noodles.  These do not need to be boiled ahead of time, though a good layer of sauce must coat the bottom of the pan and they must be laid across the 13x9 pan the short way instead of the long way. 

For the sauce, I browned about 1.5 lbs of turkey burger, (but you can also use hamburger or sausage) then simmered it with jarred spaghetti sauce (we love Francesco Rinaldi-Sweet & Tasty Tomato).  My mother used cottage cheese as her cheese layer base, and it was gooey and delicious, but Dave prefers ricotta, so I use that for him.  In the bowl below is part-skim ricotta, part-skim mozzarella, and 2 eggs.  Mix the ingredients well.

As you can see below, I’ve got a good layer of sauce, the unboiled noodles, then the  cheese layer (yet unspread),  and finally in the next picture, a layer of meat sauce.

This is repeated  two or three more times.  Your layers should look something like this when you’re all done:

Cover with aluminum foil and bake!

I often make garlic bread to go with the gazonya.  I use leftover rolls or bread (today I’m using hot dog buns), and I mix together a few dashes of Tastefully Simple Garlic-Garlic and a good chunk of butter, then spread this over the hot dog buns. I add shredded cheese to the top, then I broil them for a few minutes.

Delicioso!  Grazie Mama Mia & San Giorgio!

Lasagna

adapted from mom and SanGiorgio

1-2 lbs. browned hamburger, turkey burger, or sausage

2 jars spaghetti sauce, divided

15 oz. container Ricotta Cheese

2 c. shredded mozzarella

2 eggs

San Giorgio Oven Ready Lasagna

Brown hamburger and drain, then add 1 and 3/4 jars of sauce.  Simmer.

In a separate bowl, mix together ricotta, mozzarella, and eggs.

Pour remaining quarter jar of sauce in bottom of 13x9 pan.  Lay 3 noodles across pan.  Spread generous scoop of cheese mixture on noodles, then spread layer of meat sauce onto cheese.  Repeat two or three more times.  Finish with a layer of sauce on top.
 
Bake covered with foil at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes (will cut easier). 

Believe it or not, I add no additional seasonings, oregano, etc.  Dave and the kids like it plain (“Ew!   What’s that black stuff!?”), but the San Giorgio box will include some seasoning amounts for you to use, if you prefer.

And by the way, Rob, if you’re reading this, I WANT MY PLATE BACK.

I am linking this post to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.