Lasagna

Hello Cooks!  Yes! It's pasta all the way.  Not forgetting cheesy too!  So much so that last Saturday, my husband bought me the Ogawa EZ Tone so that I could fit some fitness workout into my lifestyle and wobble those clingy fats away!  I sure hope it works cos I have wobbled twice for about 20 mins each time.  It made me felt like I am shimming away in a belly dance number.  (Pssst!  Nice way to get the hubby's attention ladies! Heehee...;p) Don't want to be too hard on myself first else I'll find it a pain but I did find the effects a bit lightening on my body.  Easier to move around.  If it does work and I managed to shed some kilos, I will tell you more about it.  I will even post my before and after photos.  Till then, it will just have to be a wait and see.

It was a nice Saturday out with the family last weekend.  We did quite a bit of shopping.  Bought my mother-in-law an LED television for her room, the Ogawa EZ Tone for me, an electronic massager for my darling husband, a pair of stylish Bata sandals for my kitchen-ing assistant, new bedsheets and blankets, some clothes for the two boys and a scooter for Sayf.  I got some curtains made to order for the house too.  With all the walks and sightseeing, all the window shopping in the midst of the real shopping, it was no surprise that we all went kapoot towards late evening.  We went to Spize at Simpang Bedok for a mighty dinner to fill our empty stomachs.  All in all, everyone was satisfied and happy especially Sayf.  

Sayf had been wanting a scooter for quite some time but I did not want to get it for him then as I was afraid he is much too young to be riding on one and that it might cause him to get knocks or falls and injure himself.  All the while, it broke my heart when he kept staring at other kids playing and riding on their scooters at the playground.  Last Saturday though I decided to throw some caution to the wind and stop being so protective over Sayf.  I just decided to grab him a scooter from mothercare and the best thing is that the scooter was actually suitable for children of ages 1 to 5 years.  The moment we reached home that day, Sayf was so excited that he had my hubby fixed it straight away and he started riding it around the house soon after.  The happiness on his face was unimaginable.  I could not help but to tear as I looked on.  He was so happy and as he was riding, he kept repeating and telling me that he liked it very much.  These were the best moments that I could ever have had.  To be able to see so much happiness on the face of  my child and to know that somehow I was the reason behind it.

The next morning, we had a simple breakfast of toast bread and after that I started to make cooking preparations for our lunch menu, LASAGNA!  Oh yes, my all time favourite.  I made this once before and it was a hit with my mother-in-law and hubby.  Sayf, being a small eater, ate his usual portions but I could tell he did not really fancy the lasagna as much as he fancied the new scooter.  Nevertheless, the majority of us had our taste buds pleased!  I got the lasagna recipe from KRAFT website and I did make some editions to the measurements and added some ingredients here and there to suit my taste.

When I did my shopping for the lasagna ingredients, I also managed to get my favourite mozzarella cheese slices.  Finally, after some while of living without it.  I couldn't help it but to top my lasagna with torn pieces of the mozzarella slices cos I was really craving for them.  My lasagna looked like "Sponge Bob" lying down with plasters on all over after a major accident but hey, I care more about my taste than anything else.  It still looked good to me and tasted just the way I like it.  So for all of you culinary saints out there, don't follow in my footsteps.  I am a sinner when it comes to cooking, for I am most in love with heavenly food! :p  I think about the hell that comes with it later...hehe..;p

Ingredients:

This recipe serves about 10-12 people.

You will need a 13x9 inch baking dish for this recipe and there will be some left over for the meat sauce which I don't mind cos I like to freeze the remaining sauce. I would re-heat and spread it over white bread and toast the bread in the oven whenever I need some snacks served for the family.

1 large onion - diced or chopped (I added this myself)
6 garlics - chopped (I added this myself)
2 cm ginger - chopped - optional (I added this myself)
500 grams of ricotta cheese (not available so I substituted with low fat cottage cheese)
500 grams mozzarella cheese - divided
250 grams of grated Parmesan cheese - divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (these weren't available so I omitted them)
1 egg - lightly beaten
2 jars of traditional spaghetti sauce (I used Prego's brand)
500 grams of minced beef
1 box of ready to bake lasagna noodles (I used San Remo's brand)
salt to taste, if needed

Method:

 1.  Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees celsius.  Then, add cottage cheese in a big enough mixing bowl.

2.  Add in 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and parsley (which I had to omit due to non-availability at the supermarket I frequent).

3.  Add in the lightly beaten egg. 

4.  Give a good mix.  Set aside.

5.  Separately, heat enough oil in a deep based pan and add in the chopped garlic and ginger.  Saute for about half a minute.

6.  Add in the diced onion.  Stir fry until the onions are withered or translucent.

7.  Add in the minced beef.  Stir fry until browned.

8.  Let simmer for two to three minutes.

9.  Add in the two jars of spaghetti sauce.  Give a good stir.

10.  Bring to boil.  Let simmer for about two to three minutes.  Do a taste check.  Add salt if you find it necessary and give a final stir.  Off fire.

11.  Pour enough sauce into the baking dish as the base layer like the picture above.

12.  Top the sauce with the lasagna noodles like the picture above and top the noodles with the cheese mix.

13.  Spread the cheese mix on the noodles like the above picture.

14.  This is the sinful part.  For the saints out there, cover your eyes and ignore the mozzarella slices.  Repeat with another layer of sauce, followed by noodles then the cheese mix again.

15.  Now, top the cheese mix with a final layer of lasagna noodles.  Then, spread a final layer of  sauce to cover the lasagna noodles.

16.  This is what the end product in the baking dish should look like after all the layering.

17.  Empty the packets of the remaining shredded parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese right on top.

18.  Bake at 180 degrees celsius for about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how much brown you would prefer the top to be. I like mine to be quite browned.

19.  Once you take the lasagna out from the oven, let it sit for about 30 minutes for the cheese to set before cutting and serve, if you want to see the beautiful layers that is.  As for me, I had to cut and serve just after fifteen minutes because the folks at home were getting hungry and impatient.  Oh and one more thing, if you keep it in the fridge overnight and re-heat it in the oven the next day, the taste is just beyond words!  It will definitely make your day if you have it for breakfast.

Happy Kitchen-ing!!