Christmas Lasagna

"Christmas Lasagna" is a term that stems from the night of Christmas Day. My best friend's mom has made it every year (just in case we aren't already full enough from all the lunch fixins) for as long as I can remember. It has become a household regular, and also Robert's favorite meal by far. It makes enough to feed a family of 8-10 so I rarely make it unless we have company, but last night i got a little froggy ;)

I hope you all will enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 carton cottage cheese
1 4 oz. cream cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
italian seasoning
bay leaves

lasagna noodles

...and a loaf of really good french bread!

1. Sautee onions and chopped garlic in 1 tbsp. olive oil until transluscent, add ground beef, brown, drain, and add back to pan.

2. Grab a beverage (Red wine would be great with this...all I had was beer :)

2. Add tomatoes/sauce/paste, salt and pepper, italian seasoning, and 2 bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. While it's simmering, add softened cream cheese to cottage and blend well. Set aside. Boil 9 lasagna noodles, drain and set aside. Remove bay leaves from meat.

4. Layer in casserole dish as follows:

Noodles

Meat

Cheese mixture

Noodles

Meat

Mozzarella

Noodles

Meat

Mozzarella

Parmesan

5. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and ENJOY!!

(we were so excited that I forgot to take a pic of the finished product before we dug in!)

P.S. Do dishes tomorrow. You will be really full.

Merry Christmas!!