Mom's Homemade Lasagna & Bread Machine French Baguettes

Tomorrow my sister Sarah, her friend, and I will be going off to camp - Trout Lake Camps - for a week.  The camp is 4 1/2 hours north from our house.  My sister and her friend will be staying there and then I will be going off the another camp.  I am doing the Challenge Camp.  It is through Trout Lake Camps, but we go up to a more rustic camp several hours farther north.  The next week my brother John will going up to do the Challenge Camp.  It is our first time going to this camp and we are getting pretty excited.

Before we leave for camp, Sarah wanted to have lasagna.  She has been craving it.  I wanted to make it so that I could take pictures and blog the recipe.  This is the recipe that my mom has always made.  It is delicious.

Whenever my mom makes lasagna, she always makes a double batch.

I would suggest using Cento tomatoes, the whole ones, and then just chop them up with the spatula while they are simmering. 

For the first layer of noodles, put three whole noodles going the long way and then break a little piece off the forth noodle so that it fits the width of the pan and is at the end of the three long noodles.  Then, for the second layer of noodles, put the shorter end noodle at the opposite end of the pan that the first end noodle was on.

My mom doesn't cook the noodles for when making lasagna.  She makes the lasagnas a least a day before.  Overnight she refrigerates them and lets the juices from everything soften up the noodles.  Then she bakes one, to eat then, and freezes the other.  When we are going to have the one that has been it the freezer, she defrosts it (lets it sit in the fridge for a day or two) and then bakes it.

I didn't have time to make the lasagna a day before.  So, I made mine right away in the morning of the day we were going to eat it.  I let it refrigerate for the rest of the day, and it still turned out great.

We never have the patience to let our lasagna sit for 10 minutes before serving, so it usually is a little more sloppy.

Lasagna

1 lb. hamburger, cooked & drained
2 cloves garlic
1 T. basil
3/4 t. + 1/2 t. salt
28 oz. can tomatoes, cut up (Cento)
12 oz. tomato paste
8 wide lasagna noodles
24 oz. non-fat cottage cheese
1 egg + 1 egg white (or 2 eggs)
1/2 t. pepper
2 T. dried parsley
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) low-fat mozzarella cheese

Add garlic, basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste to hamburger and let simmer.

Combine cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, parsley, and parmesan cheese.

Layer 1:  4 lasagna noodles
Layer 2:  1/2 the meat mixture
Layer 3:  1/2 the cottage cheese mixture
Layer 4:  1/2 the mozzarella cheese (don't add the top layer until the last 10 or so minutes of baking)

Repeat each layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove foil last 10 minutes and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

*Refrigerate for at least overnight if using uncooked noodles, so the noodle get soft from the juices.



Now, the French Baguettes.  This is not how the French make their bread, shape their bread, bake their bread, or eat their bread.  This is an American French Baguette.

Bread Machine French Baguettes

1 c. water
2 1/2 c. bread flour
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. yeast

Place ingredients in your bread machine.
Use Dough cycle on bread machine.
Roll into 12x16 inch rectangle.
Divide into 2 - 12x8 inch pieces.
Roll from the 12 inch side tightly.
Make 3 - 4 diagonal slits.
Rise for 40 minutes.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

We have made the dough into one big baguette and it turns out delicious!

These have no oil in them, so they are best on the first day.  And, since there is no oil in them... go ahead and spread some butter on (be American)!





Enjoy!