Lasagna

I've been meaning to post this recipe forever.  I got this recipe from a professor of mine at K-State.  One day he handed out a packet of recipes in class, titled "Chuck's Recipes:  Prepared for Humanitarian Reasons in the Spring of 1998 - that work even for inept cooks and especially good for starving students".  I've not tried any of the other recipes, but I've used his lasagna recipe for years.  I tweak the recipe every time I make it and it always turns out a little different.

This one didn't turn out as pretty, because I used some orange tomatoes.

Sauce:

3 tbs olive oil

2 medium cloves garlic

2/3 c chopped celery

1 lb ground beef - sometimes I use ground turkey

4 c canned tomatoes (2 cans) - lots of fresh red tomatoes

6 tbs tomato paste

2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ tsp oregano - I also add 1/2 teaspoon of : coriander, cumin, fennel, red pepper flakes

Filling:

About 12 lasagna noodles

½ lb Mozz cheese - usually use a mozzarella log and cut into slices

12oz Ricotta cheese

2/3 c freshly grated Parm cheese

Put olive oil in 3 qt saucepan.  Add peeled, finely chopped garlic and celery and sauté until soft and yellow.  Add meat, stir with fork to separate; cook until meat is gray color.  Add rest of ingredients for sauce.  Stir, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  About 30 minutes before sauce is done, start cooking noodles.  Finely dice Mozz and coarsely grate Parm.

Put 1/3 of sauce into buttered large shallow (about 12x6x2) baking dish; add a layer of noodles, sprinkle diced Mozz over noodles; add another layer of noodles and the Ricotta.  Add another 1/3 of sauce. Add another layer of noodles and sprinkle the Parm over the top; then add the rest of the sauce.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.  Makes a least 8 servings.