Auntie Carri’s Cheesy Lasagna

My nephew called me and asked me to give him my lasagna recipe for a class cook book. After I got done typing it, I figured I'd share it with all of my friends. It's super cheesy and super yummy!!!

Auntie Carri’s Cheesy Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef (90 % is best)
1 tablespoon garlic OR ½ teaspoon minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced

1 cup Ricotta cheese, shredded
1 cup Cottage Cheese
8 oz Provolone cheese, shredded
8 oz Mozzarella cheese, shredded, plus 2 cups for topping
8 oz Parm.-Reg. cheese, (spaghetti cheese)
1 egg
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

1 box lasagna noodles
3 jars favorite spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. In a frying pan, combine the first group of ingredients. Cook thoroughly. Drain and put in fridge. While cooking beef mixture, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Follow the instructions on the Lasagna noodles box. TIP: place a few noodles at a time in the pot to keep the water boiling! When done, drain and rinse.
2. In a large bowl combine second group of ingredients. Messy, but fun! When meat mixture has cooled, mix into the cheese.
3. Grease the bottom of a 9X13 pan, spread about ½ cup of sauce on bottom of pan.
4. Next, place a layer of noodles side by side. Should be 3.
5. With a spatula, spread your meaty cheese mixture on your noodles.
6. Lay down another 3 noodles.
7. Generously pour some spaghetti sauce on these noodles.
8. Lay down another 3 noodles.
9. Continue with the meaty cheese layer, noodle layer and sauce layer until the pan is full. I like the top to be covered with sauce and sprinkled Mozzarella cheese.
10. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.
11. Let set for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Healthy Choices: can use reduced fat cheese products. Spinach can be used in the mixture as well.

This meal goes great with a green salad topped with your favorite dressing.