Christmas Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or several large skillets, cook the beef, sausage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, soup, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta and remaining salt and pepper. , Spread 2 cups meat sauce each into two greased 13x9-in. baking dishes. Layer each with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 4 noodles, 1-1/4 cups cottage cheese mixture and 3 slices of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining noodles, meat sauce and Parmesan., Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly butter 9 x 13 inch baking dish, set aside. In a small bowl stir together flour, salt and cocoa powder. In large bowl beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add red food coloring and mix well ( I used 1 tablespoon food coloring to get intense red color). Turn you mixer on low speed and gradually add flour mixture. Mix until combined. Press the mixture into bottom of baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. To make cream cheese layer: Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add 1 ½ cups Cool Whip and peppermint extract and mix to combine. Spread over cooled shortbread layer. Place in the freezer to firm while preparing pudding. To make the green pudding layer: Whisk together 2 x 3.9 ounces boxes white chocolate instant pudding mix with 3 cups milk. Add green food coloring (add a few drops at a time, to desired color) and whisk until smooth. Spread over cream cheese layer. Set in the freezer for 5 minutes. Spread 1 1/2 cup Cool Whip over pudding layer and top with mini marshmallows and sprinkles. Place in the fridge for 3-4 hours until set.

Steps:

• Open the mozzarella fresca and drain out the liquid, then thoroughly dry on paper, or clean cloth towels. Either using a food processor or a manual grater, grate the mozzarella fresca and set aside.
• Drain the ricotta and put in a bowl. With a wooden spoon gently gently gently mash and pat it down till reasonably smooth and flexible. Using a fork mix in the dry spices till well-incorporated, and set aside.
• Place the dried pasta in 1/2 gallon of salted boiling water and bring it back up to a full boil. It's usually done when it starts bubbling white. Drain the pasta in the pasta insert, or colandar over the sink. Once completely drained, then sprinkle the olive oil completely over the pasta to prevent sticking. In a festive deep-dish Lasagna pan layer the pasta, sauce and cheese in that order. The bottom layer starts with pasta. Then, ladle on on a thin layer of marinara, then the cheeses--- starting with the mozzarella fresca, seasoned ricotta, and pecorino romano---sprinkle marinara on top of that and then start again with the pasta, ladling on the sauce and cheese layers all over again.
• Cover the top with foil and bake in a 325F oven for 35-40 minutes, checking and rotating after 20 minutes. Cool covered for at least 30 minutes and garnish with the fresh Basil sprigs, and spicy Italian sausage---which is cooked completely separately.