Recipes from Helle

This is a favorite recipe in my household that is an adaptation from a cookbook I love called Mangiamo.

The sauce is the first part and it takes a while to prepare, but once its cooking you can basicly ignore it aside from an occasional stir.

• 1 lb ground beef, turkey or sausage
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups celery chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 medium zucchinis grated
• 1 cup carrots sliced into coins
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can tomato paste
• 1 cup Chablis
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat in olive oil and butter. Add celery, onions, carrots, zucchini, and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Add spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, and whine… err wine. Cook for 3 hours over low heat stirring occasionally. Like I said its lengthy, not difficult.

For the Lasagna you’ll need

• 1 box of (12) no boil lasagna noodles
• 3 cups of cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the eggs and cottage cheese in a bowl. Layer three noodles in a 9×13 pan followed by sauce, another layer of noodles, a layer of the cottage cheese mix, one final layer of sauce and the last three noodles. Top this all off with the mozzarella cheese and cover the pan with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered, remove the foil, and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes til golden and bubbly. Let this rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it. Then, Mange!

I often substitute colby jack for the mozzarella and its still wonderful. This makes about 12 servings, but in my house they go fast and even the veggie haters love it. As you can imagine if you follow my other blog, this is a wonderful use for my zucchinis.