Baked Southwest Lasagna Recipes

SOUTHWESTERN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cut each tortilla into 2 or 3 pieces; set aside.
• Brown ground beef in a large skillet until crumbly; drain fat.
• Add seasonings, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green chiles to the skillet; stir and bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes.
• Combine cottage cheese, egg, and 1 1/3 cups of the shredded cheese in a separate bowl.
• In a lightly greased 9x13" baking pan, spread (in layers) half of the meat mixture, then half of the tortilla pieces, and then half of the cheese mixture; repeat the layers, ending with cheese mixture; sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup shredded cheese and sliced olives over top.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly around edges; remove from oven and let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting into serving portions.
• NOTE: The cottage cheese may be left unpureed or may be replaced with a cup of ricotta cheese.

CRISPY SOUTHWESTERN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large non-stick skillet, cook the meat over medium heat until done, and drain any excess liquid.
• Add the tomatoes and juice, green chilies, chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper; set aside.
• In a small bowl, blend the egg whites and cottage cheese well; set aside.
• In a 13x9x2-inch non-stick baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray, place six quartered tortillas.
• Layer all the corn, half the meat mixture, half the cheese, four quartered tortillas, then all of the cottage cheee mixture, the remaining half of the meat mixture, and the remaining four quartered tortillas, and top with the remaining cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve.

SOUTHWEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place cookie sheet or foil in oven on rack below middle oven rack; heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package; drain. Rinse with cold water to cool; drain well.
• Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix and water. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.
• In small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, chiles and eggs.
• Stir pasta sauce, beans, corn and cumin into beef mixture. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated.
• To assemble lasagna, arrange 3 cooked noodles in bottom of baking dish. Spoon and spread 1/3 of ricotta mixture over noodles; top with 1/3 each of beef mixture and cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times, reserving last 1/3 of cheese.
• Place baking dish on middle oven rack; bake 25 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cheese; bake 15 to 25 minutes longer or until lasagna is bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.