The Grandson's Lasagne Vs The Grandma's Lasagne

Someone invented the concept of alternatives. There is always another way to do things. As with everything else, there are 2 ways to even cook dishes. In this day and age everyone can be everything. You could be a 16 year old Japanese girl and you could be a rap music producer, if you have the initiative and all those softwares and samples. You could be a 20 year old Indian guy and still could be an Italian chef for your family, provided you buy all the readymade sauce and mixtures from Sainsbury's etc(notice how the adjective 'good' is not to be found anywhere). The difference in the final product lies in, depending on what side you are, expertise or the DNA. He could be the biggest paid chef in the world, but if Gordon Ramsay was to prepare Sambhar, Im sure my grandma can do it that one fraction better. Why? Because its in the DNA. (No, I dont mean my grandma has a medical condition where her heart pumps Sambhar instead of blood, cmon!). So here we go, lets try making some Beef Lasagne, either ways. The quick working-day cook-able version and the real weekend home made version, right? Lets see how close it can get to the originale?

Quick Lasagne

A jar of spaghetti sauce and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese make this a hassle-free version of everybody's favorite Italian recipe--beef lasagne.

Ingredients:

-1 pound ground beef
-1/2 cup salad dressing or light salad dressing
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained (you can get the egg lasagne sheets too)
-1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce (try if you can get the Napolina or Dolmio brands)
-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the meat; drain. Stir in salad dressing and Parmesan cheese. Layer 1/2 of the noodles, meat mixture, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella cheese in 12x8-inch baking dish. Repeat layers. Bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Check at intervals, personally, I dont like it dry.

Number of servings: 6-8 adults. (Or 4 -5 hungry adults)

Granny's Lasagne

Ingredients:

-2 lbs. ground beef
-1 1/2 large box lasagna noodles
-2 large cans tomato sauce (or prepare, check methods)
-1 can tomato paste
-1 can stewed tomatoes
-2 cloves of garlic minced
-1/2 teaspoon oregano
-1/2 teaspoon parsley
-1/2 teaspoon basil
-1/2 teaspoon celery seed
-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 large container of cottage cheese
-1 small container ricotta cheese
-2 lbs. mozzarella cheese

Method

Sauce: Get 2 cans of crushed/stewed tomatoes. Blend it in a blender if need be and add to a large pot with paste. Brown the ground beef with onions(optional) and garlic. Simmer. Add your herbs and spices and heat over medium low heat for about 30-40 minutes until thick.

Take your noodles and line a baking dish then spoon sauce mixture onto noodles then spoon cottage and ricotta cheese onto the sauce then top with cheese and continue to layer until all ingredients are gone. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until cheese starts to melt then uncover and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese starts to lightly brown. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Number of servings: 8

Trust me, the little extra time spent on the second one is well worth it.

Enjoy.