The Only Recipe You'll Need This Season | A Young Gal's Guide To Christmas

Last Christmas came 2 months after my family lost our wife/mother/aunt/grandmother and to be honest, no-one really felt the Christmas spirit, so preparing for the day was bittersweet as it also was her favorite time of year. My aim honestly was to find a happy medium between what she would have wanted and drowning our sorrows in a damn good meal.

This recipe comes from our 2017 Christmas Day line up and believe me when I tell you I've been longing for another serving a day and a half after the pan did wash up. Being 100% honest, there's one person's recipes I trust so much that I'll serve any of them to my family without even a taste and that’s Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman so it makes sense that this first post be about her recipe, but just to be clear this one has been tried, proven and fully endorsed by the Bell household and has received a perfect score!

Rightfully named, "The Best Lasagna Ever" (see link below) it is the perfect amount of cheesy and has enough meat to be a great addition to your Christmas dinner plate but it can also stand up as a meal by itself all year round.

You'll need:

1-1/2 pound ground beef

1 pound hot breakfast sausage

2 cloves minced garlic

2 cans whole tomatoes

2 cans tomato paste

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups lowfat cottage cheese (though, I used Ricotta as nowhere seemed to have any)

2 whole beaten eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

1 package lasagna noodles

(1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pasta water)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

You can retrieve her original post here:

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/the_best_lasag

This is the perfect recipe to add to your menu this Christmas. Any thoughts? Feel free to message me on any social media, tagged below.

Merry Christmas,

xx Catt.