Lasagna is a popular dish and one that originated in Italy. Even though I am not Italian and do not claim to be a lasagna expert, but I do enjoy making this dish for my family and friends to eat.

Since this is one of the dishes that my friends request when I host a dinner party, I decided to share Momma Braga’s lasagna recipe with all my readers and fans! Enjoy!

Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

• Ground Chicken (or Ground Turkey or Ground Beef)
• 1 Onion
• Half of a tomato
• Olive Oil
• Lasagna Pasta
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Tomato Sauce
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Paprika
• 4 Tablespoons of red wine

DIRECTIONS

• Marinate your meat (which ever one you prefer to do. We love the ground chicken as it tastes much lighter) prior to cooking. I usually do this the night before to have the meat soak in the juices for more flavor.
  • Wash meat well.
  • Place meat in a bowl and add the following ingredients; salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, 4 teaspoons of red wine (the wine added is what sets this recipe apart from many). Measurements for the ingredients are based on what you normally use in your meat marinating.
  • Leave the meat covered and in the fridge for the next day cooking.
• The following day you can start cutting up your onions and tomato.

• Once the onions and tomato are cut, place them in a pan with some olive oil. On low heat cook the onion and tomato until the onions are a golden color. Then add your meat.
• With ground meat you will need to keep breaking it apart and stirring it to ensure it gets cooked. Once the meat is cooked remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon to ensure that the olive oil is drained.
• Place the ground meat in a bowl and mix some tomato sauce.
• In another pot, fill it with water and add a drizzle of olive oil and the add your lasagna pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water and fill it with cold water to cool down the pasta.
• Then the layering begins. Start with some tomato sauce and spread to cover the bottom of the lasagna tray. Layer with lasagna pasta, tomato sauce, ground meat and mozzarella cheese. Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserve 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese for the top of the lasagna. *Tip: Use cheese on the first layer and the layer before the very top.

• Bake in preheated oven for approx. 45 minutes (or until the cheese is melted to your liking). Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

And there you have it, Momma Braga’s lasagna! Give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Until next time…Happy Parenting!

– Momma Braga