This is my fauxsagna version of lasaga. Fauxsagna because I use egg noodles rather than lasagna noodles, and I adjust it's appearance so that it looks as much like Stouffer's as possible. Why the appearance adjustment? Well, Andrew used to eat my traditional lasagna, until he ate Stouffer's at PreK. Now, he insists that "Stouvers" is the best. Yes, he pronounces it Stouvers; he still has an issue with fricatives. Additionally, in both versions, my real and the faux, I use cottage cheese rather than ricotta. I prefer the texture. The husband prefers more pasta to cheese ratio, so if you like more cheese, please feel free to add more.
1 recipe marinara
2 lbs lean ground beef
16-oz bag egg noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella
3 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a large skillet, brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked; remove from skillet.
Prepare marinara sauce as directed and add cooked ground beef to sauce; allow beef to simmer inside thhe sauce.
Butter or spray a 3 quart baking dish (if you don't have this size, use 2 smaller baking dishes)
In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
Ladle 2 cups sauce into bottom of dish.
Add 1/2 bag of the uncooked noodles.
Top noodles with 1 1/2 cups of the cottage cheese mixture.
Sprinkle on half of the grated mozzarella cheese.
Repeat the meat sauce, noodle, and cottage cheese, but do not add the remaining mozzarella; instead, add 2 cups of meat sauce.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Remove foil, sprinkle on remaining mozzarella cheese, and return to oven. Bake until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Allow lasagna to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
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