Isn't it amazing how someone can still screw up a recipe titled EASY lasagna?!


Question: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Lasagn...

I attempted to make this yesterday. I used oven-ready noodles. I layered the dish as noodles (on bottom)-->ingredients-->noodles-->ingred... The noodles on top did not cook AT ALL (I ended up throwing them out), and the lasagna didn't "set" as it should have. Overall, it tasted OK, although I'm not sure I would have served it to anyone other than myself.

My guess is that the foil wasn't sealed tightly enough, I shouldn't have used oven-ready noodles (although I have read numerous reviews on this recipe where they WERE used), or my oven just sucks (which is entirely possible). Ideas? Thoughts?


Answers: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Lasagn...

I attempted to make this yesterday. I used oven-ready noodles. I layered the dish as noodles (on bottom)-->ingredients-->noodles-->ingred... The noodles on top did not cook AT ALL (I ended up throwing them out), and the lasagna didn't "set" as it should have. Overall, it tasted OK, although I'm not sure I would have served it to anyone other than myself.

My guess is that the foil wasn't sealed tightly enough, I shouldn't have used oven-ready noodles (although I have read numerous reviews on this recipe where they WERE used), or my oven just sucks (which is entirely possible). Ideas? Thoughts?

Sometimes you have to adjust the recipe directions for the variety of no-boil noodles you are using. The no-boil noodles probably required a little more water in teh sauce, or covering very tightly w/ foil (as you did, but it wasn't tight, you said).

I usually put a bit of sauce down in the pan first, then the bottom layer of nodles. I also never end w/ noodles; I do my last layer of noodles, then sauce, then cheese. Spray foil w/ Pam then seal tightly.

I have used those noodles before, and also had a problem with them not cooking all the way. My guess is maybe to use more sauce and let them cook longer. Try using cooked noodles next time, I definitely think they work better.

next time look for the lasagna in the hamburger helper isle. all you do is brown the meat and stir in the ingredients.... think its water, maybe some milk...its fool proof if ya drain the grease off the meat first.

First off, check the internal temp of your oven, it might not be heating up properly.Try This recipe.....

Boil 1 pkg. noodles. according to pkg. drain, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, brown 1 pound burger, 1 onion diced, and 1 can mushrooms, until done. drain. Add 1 small carton of cottage cheese and 1 jar spagetti sauce. Mix well. Heat on low for 10 min.

In 9x13 greased pan, put a layer of meat sauce, then a layer of noodles, then sauce and then grated mozzarella cheese. Continue this pattern ending with meat sauce and top with cheese. Cover and bake 25 minutes at 425*. Uncover and bake addition 10-15 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with a side salad and bread sticks

Haven't checked your recipe, but when I make it the top layer of pasta has bechemal sauce on it, which cooks it. Also, it sets better if you let it cool down completely, then cut it into portions & then reheat it. (We did it that way in a restaurant I worked at). You could make it the day before, even, & reheat the entire tray. Although it is such a drama to make, it is worth it in the end. I always make a baking tray worth & freeze portions. Mmmm. You've inspired me!

I glanced at the recipe you used, and the first thing that strikes me is that it sounds like the sauce(s) must end up fairly thick and dense and, therefore, too dry to permeate and cook the pasta.

Remember that pasta needs plenty of water or other liquid in order to cook properly. If you use ingredients like tomato paste and ricotta, you're risking getting too dry a sauce. Also, eggs have absolutely no place in lasagna fillings, and would also end up drying the inside. The "secret" in cooking oven-ready lasagna noodles is that they cook with the juices of the sauces.

Genuine lasagna requires a fairly liquid bechamel (white sauce) -- not ricotta -- and a tomato & meat sauce that is also fairly liquid (use tomato purée or "passata", not paste).

Also, since the last (top) layer consists of tomato & meat sauce, bechamel, and mozzarella pieces, that is what coats, cooks, and seals the top layer of pasta. There is absolutely NO reason to cover the top with foil; as a matter of fact, it won't brown properly if you do. I omit the top sprinkling of parmesan cheese until the last 5 minutes, to avoid having a burnt crust on the top.

Try this recipe for a "quick" lasagna that I developed (by analyzing lasagnas particularly enjoyed at restaurants) and use constantly. My whole family loves it.

LASAGNA

This is a quick version of the "classic", original northern Italian lasagna (no ricotta):
On each layer (6 in all), spread, not too thickly, about ? cup each (depends on the size of the pan) of tomato & meat sauce, bechamel (white sauce made with butter, flour, milk, and salt), and diced mozzarella. The finishing layer of pasta has to be covered the same way. Bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes (or according to your lasagna noodle directions). At the end of the 25 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes (to avoid burning the top crust).

No basil or other herbs, ricotta, mushrooms, vegetables such as peppers, or sugar are used in the sauce. I always use fresh pasta that does not need cooking first; it cooks with the juices of the sauces (which should be of a fairly liquid consistency, not too dense), in 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the dish or pan.

Remove from the oven, and let it set, cool, and firm up a bit before cutting (about half an hour), otherwise it will be too runny. It's wonderfully creamy, delicate, and rich at the same time.

Ingredients: http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image...
Finished: http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image...

SIMPLIFIED "BOLOGNESE"-TYPE MEAT SAUCE

A very simple Bolognese-type tomato & meat sauce you can prepare very quickly to use in lasagna:

2 tbsp olive oil
? lb ground beef
flour
? cup white or rosé wine
1 pint plain puréed tomato sauce (“passata”) – NOT paste
vegetable bouillon/broth/soup base powder
2 tbsp butter
grated parmesan cheese

In this case you don’t need to sauté vegetables, because the vegetable flavorings (and salt) come from the vegetable broth powder.

Sauté the ground beef in the olive oil until well browned. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp flour over the meat and stir in, scraping up all that sticks to the pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato “passata”. Add vegetable broth powder to taste, and about 1 cup water, and cook over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent sticking, until the sauce loses its “raw” taste, thickens, and reaches the "right" consistency (if necessary you can add more water and/or cook longer if you like). Turn off the heat, and when your pasta has been cooked and drained, toss it in the pan with the sauce, to which a lump of butter has been added. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Use this sauce with lasagna (without the butter), fettuccine, fusilli, rigatoni, or some other shaped pasta that "holds" the sauce well.





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