Gluten Free Cheesy Meat Organic Lasagna

I had some frozen grassfed ground beef in the freezer and wanted to make something super yummy with it! I purchased some Gluten Free Lasagna noodles (which I didn't realize you didn't have to pre-boil which is NICE) so I wanted to use those too. I searched online for a lasagna recipe and found one written by Dianne Smith on the Suite 101 dinner ideas web site.
I took pictures of the process the whole way through! I am a very visual person so for those out there like me, hopefully this will help!
First off, here is the recipe I used:


Meat and Cheese Lasagna Ingredients

•1 pound lean ground hamburger meat (I used grassfed ground beef)
•3 cloves garlic, minced (I added 4--you can never have too much garlic!)
•1 tbsp whole basil (I added quite a bit more fresh basil!)
•1 1/2 tsp salt
•28 oz (1 lb 12 oz) canned diced tomatoes (the non-diced can can be substituted and then simply diced. Use the liquid in the can, too)--I had one 14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes (which gave it a little kick) and one 14.5 oz. can of plain diced tomatoes
•2 6-oz. cans tomato paste
•1/2 to 3/4 cup water, to taste, depending on the lack of dryness desired
•10 ounces lasagna noodles (I used Gluten-Free noodles)
•2 eggs
•4 cups cream style small curd cottage cheese
•1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
•2 tbsp. parsley flakes
•1 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp. pepper
•1 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or grated

All of the ingredients I had on hand were organic except for the GF lasagna noodles and the parmesan cheese which I grated fresh.

Meat Lasagna Recipe Preparation
1.Boil the noodles till tender according to the package directions in boiling, salted water; drain and then rinse. (I didn't need to pre-boil the GF noodles)

2.Meanwhile, brown the ground meat slowly in a large frying pan; spoon off the excess fat or drain it into a container to be thrown away afterward.
3.Add the next five ingredients to the meat and the water.
4.Cover and simmer the meat mixture for 15 minutes, stirring often.

5.Beat the eggs in a medium size bowl; then add the rest of the ingredients except the mozzarella.
6.Layer half the noodles in a 15 x 10 x 2" baking dish (glass Pyrex works great); spread with half the cottage cheese filling; add the next layer of half the mozzarella cheese; add the next layer of half the meat sauce. (I used a 13" x 9" pan)

First , Second, and Third Layers!

7.Repeat the exact same layers.

Ready to bake!

8.Bake at 375* for 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate; bake 45 minutes).
9.Let stand covered tightly for 15 to 30 minutes. (I added some more mozzarella cheese on top before covering it.) Tin foil can be used but be careful to not let the tin foil touch the lasagna as it can adhere to it. Plastic wrap can be used first, then covered with the tin foil to prevent this problem. Serves about 10.

Here is the finished product! 















And...here is my dinner!  We have a LOT of leftovers!!!

Lasagna does take a little bit of prep. time, but the great thing is that it makes such a large amount of food that you are sure to have leftovers!

If you like my posts, feel free to "Follow My Blog" or Subscribe to it by clicking on the links on the right!  Thanks!

Enjoy!
=o)
Jen