My "Christmas" Lasagna Recipe

While living in LA, one of my very favorite grounding foods was the lasagna at restaurant called Maggiano's.  Well, as I usually mention in these recipe posts, while I loved it, once I changed my eating habits, I knew I wouldn't be eating that lasagna again UNLESS I revamped the recipe in a pretty big way! Luckily, I found their recipe, cleaned up the ingredients, made it gluten-free, tweaked measurements (actually removing a lot of cheese), and decided to cook it three years ago for Christmas dinner. Since it was so well received, I've made it each year since, gradually refining bit by bit to create this crowd pleaser CLEAN lasagna.

In this ingredients list, I prefer to select all organic, non-GMO options! When it comes to dairy/ animal products, it's especially important to choose antibiotic-free, grass-fed, organic, and non-GMO...if and when possible! While this recipe isn't necessarily "healthy", by improving the quality of the ingredients, you are removing a lot of detrimental additives. 

Ingredients:

For the Filling:
- 4 whole eggs
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 32 oz. ricotta cheese 
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1-1/2 tsp pink salt or sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1-1/2 tsp finely minced garlic OR 1 tsp granulated garlic

Cooking Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, add the eggs, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and garlic. 
2. Mix well with a whisk. Add the flour, salt, and pepper. Mix until completely incorporated.
3. Scrape down the sides of bowl-- mix again.
4. Use immediately or refrigerate.

Assembly:
- One 9 oz. box of brown rice lasagna noodles, I prefer Jovial!
- Lasagna filling (above recipe)
- Two 25 oz. jars of marinara sauce, I prefer Mezetta's Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion, but Jovial's is good too.
- One 16 oz. bag of Italian Blend shredded cheese OR 1-1/2 cups of mozzarella, provolone, romano & parmesan cheese.
- 1 lb. of grass-fed ground beef, browned

Cooking Instructions:
1. Boil lasagna noodles for 4 minutes prior to assembly. (Don't cook any longer to avoid mush!) 
2. Using a rubber spatula, spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom of baking dish. Lay a layer of lasagna pasta over sauce. (If using traditional lasagna dish or casserole dish, it ends up being approx. 4 lasagna sheets per layer. If needed, cut sheets to fit space) Approx dish sizes: 10" x 16" or 13" x 9".
3. Spread filling evenly over pasta with spatula. Then, evenly distribute the 1 lb. of browned (cooked) ground beef. Place another layer of pasta sheets on top, then spread 1/2 cup marinara. 
4. Repeat this process until you reach 3 layers of noodles. Two layers of filling. The top of the lasagna should be a layer of noodles with another 1/2 cup of marinara on top. 
5. Cover lasagna with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil, if storing over night.
If cooking right away, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake lasagna in preheated oven set to 350 degrees. 
6. Cook lasagna for approx. 40-45 minutes. Then, spread 16 oz. of Italian Blend shredded cheese on top. Cook for additional 15 minutes, or until golden.

*Optional: add sliced zucchini to layers (shown below) 

Enjoy!!!