World's Greatest Lasagne

Lasagne is a very versatile dish and is wonderful served with bread, a favourite salad, and a side vegetable such as broccoli or zucchini slices. For dessert try Spumoni ice cream or a light Tiramisu. A nice wine chose with this recipe would be Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon.

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes (no salt added if you can get it)

1 can (14 ounces) tomato sauce (no salt added if you can get it)

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes (fresh parsley may be used also)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

9 uncooked lasagne noodles (about 8 ounces) (for a healthy lasagne try the whole wheat lasagne noodles; they are absolutely delicious)

1 carton (16 ounces) creamed cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh or processed is fine)

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about

8 ounces) (if you are shredding yourself, freezing the cheese first makes it easier to shred)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook and stir ground beef in a skillet until browned. Drain off fat and add onion and garlic and cooked until onion is just softened.

Add tomatoes (with liquid), tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons of parsley, the sugar, basil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until sauce thickens (about 45 minutes).

Cook noodles as directed on package.

Reserve 1 cup of the sauce mixture.

Mix cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the oregano. Layer 1/3 each of the noodles, remaining sauce mixture, mozzarella cheese, and cottage cheese mixture in ungreased 9" x 13" pan. Repeat 2 times.

Spoon reserved sauce mixture onto top trying to cover any noodles that show to prevent them from trying out during cooking. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cook uncovered in 350 degree oven 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Makes about 8 servings.

Do-ahead Tip: After cooking, lasagne can be covered and frozen for 3 weeks. Cook frozen lasagne uncovered for about 1 hour or cover and remove cover last ½ hour. Cook until lasagne bubbles.

For a healthy lasagne, low-fat cheeses can be used and handfuls of fresh or frozen spinach added to the layers tastes simply divine.

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