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meat and veg lasagna

(2 ratings)
cwhisenhunt avatar
Recipe by
Christine Whisenhunt
@cwhisenhunt
Visalia, CA

I came up with this recipe when I was in college. I had gone to a funeral for my uncle and my Italian aunt and her sisters had made lasagna with layers of zucchini and tomato in it. I had never had a lasagna with veggies in it. It was SO good! I started thinking... I wonder what other veggies I could put in a lasagna? I came up with this. It is by far the most flavorful and, depending on how you put it together, beautiful dishes I have ever made in my life. It is VERY tasty! (Someone even offered to help me open a restaurant after eating it. Yes, he was serious. LOL) I hope you try it. Enjoy!

(2 ratings)
yield serving(s)

Ingredients For meat and veg lasagna

  • for sauce:
  • 8 sm
    cans tomato sauce
  • 1 lg
    can tomato paste
  • water, as per tomato paste can
  • 10
    tomatoes, chopped, (or 3 cans stewed tomatoes)
  • the following seasonings to taste:
  • garlic powder (or minced garlic)
  • italian seasoning
  • celery salt
  • salt and pepper
  • for veggie mixture:
  • 2 bunch
    broccoli (tops only), finely chopped
  • 1
    head cauliflower (top only), chopped finely
  • 1/2 pkg
    carrots, chopped finely
  • 1 lb
    mushrooms, chopped or sliced
  • 3
    zucchini or yellow squash, or combo of, chopped
  • 1 lg
    yellow onion, chopped
  • meat:
  • 2 lb
    hamburger, browned
  • cheeses:
  • 2 lb
    cheddar, shredded
  • 1 lg
    ball of mozzarella, shredded
  • 1 lg
    container of cottage cheese
  • 1 lg
    container of ricotta cheese
  • 2 lg
    packages lasagna noodles
  • olive oil

How To Make meat and veg lasagna

  • 1
    Get a stock pot, 2 large skillets, and another large pot for noodles. Put sauce ingredients in the stock pot and heat over medium heat. Once heated thru, reduce heat to simmer and allow to continue to cook.
  • 2
    In one frying pan, brown the hamburger. In the other frying pan, saute veggie mixture in a small amount of olive oil until tender. Drain the hamburger. Add the hamburger and veggie mixture to stock pot. Continue to simmer. The longer it simmers, the better it is.
  • 3
    In large pot, boil water for noodles. Cook and drain noodles.
  • 4
    If you are making all the pans at once, make yourself an assembly line. Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of each pan to prevent sticking. Put a layer of noodles, then a layer of sauce, then a layer of each cheese (drop ricotta and cottage cheese by small spoonfuls every couple of inches); repeat until pan is full. You should get 3-4 layers per pan. Top last layer with grated cheeses only.
  • 5
    Bake at 350 degrees until heated though, cheeses melt, and top browns.
  • 6
    Notes: Sometimes I layer in some of the veggies (sliced tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, and mushrooms) for a more stunning presentation. If you do this, slice them thinly so they get cooked during the baking stage. If you prefer to hide the veggies from your family, go ahead and cook them in the sauce. You could also leave the meat out of this and adjust it to be vegetarian. It would be delicious that way as well!
  • 7
    Beware, this recipe makes enough for 3-4 large, DEEP dish lasagnas. I like to give the extras away to family or friends, but they would freeze well for future dinners too. :)
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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