Hunt for my Grandma's lasagna recipe

[KimKat33]

Hello everyone.

About 3 years ago I had asked my grandma to teach me how to make her lasagna, unfortunately, she passed away right as she was gathering the shelf-stable ingredients. I have been craving her lasagna and it makes me cry every time I think of it because we were so close (gardening is also very hard to do as it was something we would spend the entire season doing together for years). Every time she made the lasagna, she would cook 4 big pans of them for the whole family. It was great.

Anyways, I have been trying different lasagna recipes from books and the internet but none come close to my grandmother's recipe. I know she used farmers' cheese, ground beef, and Swiss cheese but that's all I know.

The closest recipe I found was one from an old betty crockers book, I think the recipe was called 'American lasagna' or something like that.

Does anyone have a good recipe I could try? I don't know why I am so determined to get the recipe down flat but I am. I guess it will make me feel closer to her.

Also if someone knows how to make farmers cheese that would be a big bonus as well. (can't find it in stores anymore)

Also, if you still have grandparents make sure to spend time learning how to do things. I wish I was not so stubborn about it in my teenage years.

 

[saysfaa]

Brown 1 pd hamburger
Add to hamburger:
clove garlic, minced
1 T basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pd tomatoes (pretty much any form of canned tomatoes works; I'm sure fresh would too)
12 oz tomato paste

Simmer, adjusting, until it looks and tastes right. Or, maybe an hour if you aren't sure what it should taste like (using commercially canned diced or crushed tomatoes.)

Cook 1 box lasagne noodles according to the directions on the box. Or slice raw zucchini lengthwise to make veggie noodles.

Mix together:
2 eggs
3 c farmer's cheese (or ricotta)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
2 T dried parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Layer:
A skim of the sauce to keep the bottom layer of noodles from sticking
*Noodles (or zucchini slices)
Cheese mix
Pieces of sliced cheese (we use muenster but you can try swiss here)
Shredded mozzarella
Meat sauce

Repeat once or twice from *
Make sure the last layer of sauce fully covers the entire top, all the way to the edges of the pan.

Bake 375F for a half hour

Let set at least 15 min before serving

Fair warning, I never actually follow this exactly but it is what I refer to when I haven't made it in a long time.

Notes:

• If the sauce tastes like tomato soup then add more tomato paste or basil or both.
• Noodles should make a nearly solid layer - put them edge to edge and cut as needed to fit your pan. Also alternate which way they lay - bottom layer lengthwise, next layer crosswise...
• I like alternating pasta noodles and zucchini slices as the noodle part.
• Sometimes I add veggies like spinach or zucchini to the sauce.
• Sometimes I add sliced mushrooms to the meat sauce or scattered across a noodle layer.
• Sometimes I substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta. Up to half. It doesn't taste as good but sometimes costs a lot less.
• Sometimes I add an extra egg to the cheese sauce
• Cheese mix gets spooned on in dabs rather than spread on.
• The directions say 2 pounds of mozzarella but we like less than that.
• The directions came with the option of putting it together one day, putting it is the refrigerator until the next day, then baking it for 45 min instead of a half hour. I've never tried that.

 

[Sally PB]

My recipe is very similar to what @saysfaa posted, but I add some Italian sausage to the hamburger.

I'll have to try making it with zucchini "noodles;" I haven't had lasagna since I went gluten free, and wow, does it sound good!

 

[saysfaa]

Random thoughts on lasagne:

I said simmer the meat sauce for an hour but we like it better if it simmers most of the day. Stir occassionaly, of course.

Dh doesn't like garlic, so I put less (or none) of that in. He likes more black pepper than most people, so I put some in the meat sauce and double the amount asked for in the cheese sauce.

My friend makes lasagne much faster by using a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making the meat sauce. Dh likes that too because he also likes spaghetti but we don't consider that dish to be lasagne.

I rarely have the noodles, meat sauce, cheese sauce, mozzarella, and pan size all come out even. Although I'm getting closer now that the kids are grown and gone and I'm not tripling, or quadrupling the recipe. Any of the layers taste pretty good alone or in any combination so nothing needs to be wasted.

 

[KimKat33]

Brown 1 pd hamburger
Add to hamburger:
clove garlic, minced
1 T basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pd tomatoes (pretty much any form of canned tomatoes works; I'm sure fresh would too)
12 oz tomato paste

Simmer, adjusting, until it looks and tastes right. Or, maybe an hour if you aren't sure what it should taste like (using commercially canned diced or crushed tomatoes.)

Cook 1 box lasagne noodles according to the directions on the box. Or slice raw zucchini lengthwise to make veggie noodles.

Mix together:
2 eggs
3 c farmer's cheese (or ricotta)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
2 T dried parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Layer:
A skim of the sauce to keep the bottom layer of noodles from sticking
*Noodles (or zucchini slices)
Cheese mix
Pieces of sliced cheese (we use muenster but you can try swiss here)
Shredded mozzarella
Meat sauce

Repeat once or twice from *
Make sure the last layer of sauce fully covers the entire top, all the way to the edges of the pan.

Bake 375F for a half hour

Let set at least 15 min before serving

Fair warning, I never actually follow this exactly but it is what I refer to when I haven't made it in a long time.

Notes:

• If the sauce tastes like tomato soup then add more tomato paste or basil or both.
• Noodles should make a nearly solid layer - put them edge to edge and cut as needed to fit your pan. Also alternate which way they lay - bottom layer lengthwise, next layer crosswise...
• I like alternating pasta noodles and zucchini slices as the noodle part.
• Sometimes I add veggies like spinach or zucchini to the sauce.
• Sometimes I add sliced mushrooms to the meat sauce or scattered across a noodle layer.
• Sometimes I substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta. Up to half. It doesn't taste as good but sometimes costs a lot less.
• Sometimes I add an extra egg to the cheese sauce
• Cheese mix gets spooned on in dabs rather than spread on.
• The directions say 2 pounds of mozzarella but we like less than that.
• The directions came with the option of putting it together one day, putting it is the refrigerator until the next day, then baking it for 45 min instead of a half hour. I've never tried that.

Thank you for your recipe! I am putting it on the 'lasagne to try' list I have!

 

[KimKat33]

Brown 1 pd hamburger
Add to hamburger:
clove garlic, minced
1 T basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pd tomatoes (pretty much any form of canned tomatoes works; I'm sure fresh would too)
12 oz tomato paste

Simmer, adjusting, until it looks and tastes right. Or, maybe an hour if you aren't sure what it should taste like (using commercially canned diced or crushed tomatoes.)

Cook 1 box lasagne noodles according to the directions on the box. Or slice raw zucchini lengthwise to make veggie noodles.

Mix together:
2 eggs
3 c farmer's cheese (or ricotta)
1/2 c parmesan cheese
2 T dried parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Layer:
A skim of the sauce to keep the bottom layer of noodles from sticking
*Noodles (or zucchini slices)
Cheese mix
Pieces of sliced cheese (we use muenster but you can try swiss here)
Shredded mozzarella
Meat sauce

Repeat once or twice from *
Make sure the last layer of sauce fully covers the entire top, all the way to the edges of the pan.

Bake 375F for a half hour

Let set at least 15 min before serving

Fair warning, I never actually follow this exactly but it is what I refer to when I haven't made it in a long time.

Notes:

• If the sauce tastes like tomato soup then add more tomato paste or basil or both.
• Noodles should make a nearly solid layer - put them edge to edge and cut as needed to fit your pan. Also alternate which way they lay - bottom layer lengthwise, next layer crosswise...
• I like alternating pasta noodles and zucchini slices as the noodle part.
• Sometimes I add veggies like spinach or zucchini to the sauce.
• Sometimes I add sliced mushrooms to the meat sauce or scattered across a noodle layer.
• Sometimes I substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta. Up to half. It doesn't taste as good but sometimes costs a lot less.
• Sometimes I add an extra egg to the cheese sauce
• Cheese mix gets spooned on in dabs rather than spread on.
• The directions say 2 pounds of mozzarella but we like less than that.
• The directions came with the option of putting it together one day, putting it is the refrigerator until the next day, then baking it for 45 min instead of a half hour. I've never tried that.

This recipe was so close! Thank you so much!!! It was delicious and easy to make! I'll definitely make it again!!