Janna’s Extra-Easy Delightfully-Delicious Lasagne

[NOTE: To make this lasagne recipe Vegan or Strictly Vegetarian, simply replace the ground beef with portabella mushrooms and sliced colossal (really big!) black olives. Then make certain the noodles are egg-free (DeBoles is a good brand). Next, replace the all the cheeses with an Extra-Firm Tofu that has been thoroughly drained and then crushed with a fork. It’s truly terrific, I promise! Enjoy! — Janna]

Believe it or not, lasagne is quite a popular dish in Iowa, and the mark of being an expert cook in the Midwest is just how good your lasagne tastes. I make a mean lasagne. When I moved to New York, home of Little Italy and other great taste treats, I thought my lasagne recipe would be challenged.

Competition?
Well, let me say that after ten years of tasting the lasagne competition, my lasagne recipe is still the tops! It tastes great. It’s NOT less filling. My lasagne is extra-easy to make and super-delicious to eat!

Taste for Yourself
I share my famous recipe with you now so you can taste for yourself. This is yet another Go Inside exclusive! What’s great about this lasagne recipe is that you don’t have to cook the lasagne noodles first.

Start With:

1 1/2 lbs. extra lean ground beef
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
6 cloves garlic, crushed

Brown the above ingredients and drain away that fat.

Then Add:

4 cups of V-8 vegetable juice
12 oz. fresh mushrooms
8 oz. can tomato paste
3/4 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. ground sea salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper

Simmer with hamburger mixture for 30 minutes.

Now you need:

1 package lasagne noodles, uncooked
15-oz. package cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups cups parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a 9×13 pan, place half of your uncooked noodles on the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of hamburger sauce and then cheese. Repeat the noodles and the layering. Cover with foil and bake for half an hour in a 350 degree oven. Remove the foil. Then bake for 15 more minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes before serving.

And that’s it!

Let me know if you’ve tasted better!

January 14, 1997

Well! I’ve been flattered by all the great mail I’ve been getting about this lasagne recipe and I thank you all for writing.

Dana Evans from Kennesaw, Georgia wrote me and suggested a very healthy and delicious modification to my lasagne recipe that I will share with you now:

“We just finished eating your lasagna… and my entire family loved it! And I loved how easy it was. I use ground turkey instead of beef, used no fat cottage cheese and low fat mozzarella to cut fat… and no one even noticed! How did you ever come up with using V-8 for the sauce… it’s such a great idea. I’ll pass your recipe on… I know several people that will love it too. Thanx for sharing it.”

Thanks, Dana! Your modifications are a great and tasty way to make the recipe even better and these changes fit precisely into why I chose to use V-8 instead of some other heavier tomato sauce! V-8 is a light, good-tasting and quick way to get a lot of veggies and vitamins into your body and into the bodies of those you love!