food & drink: Simple lasagna recipe brings back childhood memories

By Jessica Webster Community Content Coordinator

Posted on Wed, May 19, 2010 : 6 a.m.

One of my favorite childhood recipes came from the side of a box of lasagna noodles.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

Is there anything more comforting than a favorite recipe from your childhood?

My mom is an excellent and adventurous cook. Everything that I know and love about cooking I learned from her. It's important that you know this because I am about to embarrass her by saying that one of my very favorite food memories from my childhood is the lasagna recipe that she followed from the side of the Prince lasagna box.

It's a fairly simple, straightforward recipe. It calls for sauce from a jar, but you can personalize it with your own favorite sauce. Don't tell my mom that, though. As a child I pitched a fit if my mom dared to stray from the recipe.

Part of the allure of the lasagna was the leftovers. I would ride my bike home from school for lunch, and Mom would wrap a slice of lasagna in foil and heat it up in the toaster oven. It always felt like such a special treat.

I still consider lasagna to be a special treat and I love to make it for my own family. I vary the sauce depending on my mood, maybe adding spinach or other vegetables. I'll sometimes make my own lasagna noodles or splurge on Pastabilities fresh lasagna sheets. But I've always got the Classic North End Lasagna from the Prince lasagna box in the back of my mind, and I always "bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly," and "let stand 10 minutes" before I serve.

Classic North End Lasagna

Ingredients
1 (1 pound) package lasagna, uncooked
Â½ pound bulk Italian sausage
Â½ pound lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Â½ teaspoon salt
Â½ cup dry red wine or beef broth
1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce, any flavor
1 (15- or 16-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Â¼ teaspoon pepper
4 cups (1 pound) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Cook lasagna as package directs; drain.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In large skillet, over medium heat, brown meats; pour off fat. Add garlic, oregano, salt and wine; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley and pepper; mix well.

5. On bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking dish, spread Â¾ cup meat sauce. Top with half each the lasagna strips, ricotta cheese mixture, remaining meat sauce and mozzarella. Repeat layering.

6. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Refrigerate leftovers.