Cottage Cheese

The ultimate chilly weather comfort food, Easy Cottage Cheese Lasagna is hearty, filling, and easy to make. Warm and comforting, luscious and flavorful, this lasagna is sure to become a favorite recipe. Easy Cheesy Lasagna is made a tad lighter with the addition of cottage cheese, which adds a creamy and slightly salty taste to the lasagna.

Perfect for family gatherings or entertaining friends, Easy Cheesy lasagna is easily halved for smaller groups or doubled for larger ones. Perfect for welcoming new babies or visiting sick friends, you’ll not only enjoy it yourself, but will want to share. It’s a snap to prep early and bake later. It also freezes well before or after baking.

Bursting with fresh flavor and cheesy deliciousness, this Easy Cheesy Lasagna is sure to become one of your favorite recipes. Layers of pasta, meat sauce, and cheese baked until hot and bubbly, it’s the perfect recipe for those chilly winter nights snuggled up by the fire. It’s perfect for parties as it can be prepared with little fuss early in the day and then baked while you visit with your guests. Be sure to try it for your next get-together.

• Daisy Cottage Cheese (2 1/2 cups): The cottage cheese is creamy and slightly salty, adding cheesy goodness to this lasagna. Cottage cheese has 70% fewer calories than ricotta and 150% less fat! Plus, cottage cheese adds a boost of protein to the dish.
• Lean Ground Beef (1 pound): Look for beef that has less than 8% fat for the leanest option. The beef adds flavor to the lasagna and a boost of iron.
• Jarred Marinara Sauce (2, 24-25 ounce jars): Quick, easy, and flavorful, look for sauces that are bright red and contain tomatoes, garlic, herbs, onion, and olive oil. Feel free to use a low-sodium version if desired.
• Eggs (2, beaten): Acts as a binder for the cheese, it keeps the cheese from oozing out and becoming runny.
• Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup, grated): Best when freshly grated. It is an aged, strong flavored, hard, nutty cheese.
• Dried Basil (1 1/2 teaspoons): Intense floral flavor, dried basil is best for dishes that cook for a long time. It adds the classic flavor for which Italian food is known.
• Garlic Powder (1 teaspoon): Concentrated garlic flavor is great for dishes with long cooking time.
• Onion Powder (1 teaspoon): Provides easy, concentrated onion flavor without the mess of chopping. It’s ideal for dishes with a long cooking time.
• Mozzarella Cheese (3 1/2 cups, shredded): Milky, creamy, and grassy in flavor, it’s the perfect melting cheese. The richness compliments the tomato sauce, lending the classic Italian flavor.
• No-boil Lasagna Noodles (12): Convenient in time and prep, no-boil noodles are the perfect shortcut. Plus, the consistency is perfect for lasagna. Typically, thinner than traditional noodles, no-boil noodles soak up the sauce and cook while baking without becoming soggy.

• Ground pork, sweet or Italian sausage, or cooked lentils may be used in place of part of all the ground beef.
• 6 cups of homemade sauce may be used in place of jarred.
• Romano or Asiago may be used in place of Parmesan.
• Provolone may be substituted for some or all the mozzarella cheese.
• Par-boiled lasagna noodles may be used in place of no-boil noodles. Don’t over boil as the noodles will continue to cook in the oven. Gluten-free noodles may also be used.
• Add some veggies such as fresh or frozen and drained spinach, sautéed mushrooms, shredded zucchini, finely diced carrots, sliced and drained eggplant, sauteed onions and green peppers.
• Use 2 8×8-inch pans instead of a 9×13-inch pan. You can have one now and freeze one for later or to share one with friends. The recipe can also easily be doubled if you’re feeding a crowd.
• To freeze fully prepared uncooked lasagna, wrap pan tightly in plastic wrap, and then wrap on aluminum foil. Thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before baking.

To freeze cooked lasagna, cool completely, cut into squares and wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, and then wrap on aluminum foil. Thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before reheating. To reheat lasagna, remove original wrapping and place in a covered baking dish. Our preferred method of reheating is the oven. Heat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through (about 25-30 minutes). Or, if time is short, microwave on medium heat until hot in 30 second intervals.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Drain the cottage cheese in a fine mesh strainer.
3. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink.
4. Add the jarred marinara sauce and set aside.
5. In a medium bowl mix the beaten eggs, drained cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
6. Starting with the sauce, layer the sauce, noodles, and cheese mixture in a 9×13-inch baking dish (noodles will not completely cover sauce – they swell as they cook). Repeat the layers twice.
7. Slightly press the noodles down into the sauce and then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake 40-45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
9. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving to aid in slicing.