Lasagna with Brown Rice Noodle

On the weekend, we had the pleasure of going out to dinner with a large group of friends.  The night was filled with lively conversation, good food and a glass or two of wine.  By the end of the evening, we seemed to be re-living elementary school dances where all of the "boys" ended up at one end of the table and we "girls" were huddled around the opposite end.  What can I tell you? We laughed, we cried, we noticed our menu had a gluten-free section.  It turns out that a few of the girls and their significant others were trying to avoid gluten for one reason or another.  For this reason, I decided to switch up my classic wheat based pasta with ready to bake, brown rice lasagna noodles.  Let me assure you that no one here noticed or minded at all.  Yum!

The sauce! 

The cheese!

The layers!

The snack I made for my boys because they were "HUNGRY, MOMMY!"  (Sliced Ontario Apples with Honey and ground cinnamon to dip).  This tied them over until dinner was served.  Phew!

Still building........

....baking....

So good!

Delicious!

It turns out that this comfort food almost made up for the reduced number of hugs I had yesterday as my boys started back to school.  Layers of tender meat in a beefy but simple tomato sauce and gooey cheese made the grade in our home! 

Lasagna with Brown Rice Noodles

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion, chopped
• 2 Stalks Celery, chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, put through a garlic press or minced
• 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
• 1 lb Pork Sausage Meat ( I used 5 smallish Italian Sausages, casings removed)
• 1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes, Puree a bit with an immersion blender or in a food processor (I use my Vitamix) so there are still some pieces in the tomato puree, you can probably also use about 4 cups of whole tomatoes, peeled and seeded or a can of crushed or pureed tomatoes
• 1 cup of Beef Broth ( I have also used Chicken Broth, Tomato Juice and Plain Water - but that's boring, ha!)
• 1/4 cup chopped Fresh Parsley
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

• 2 fresh Eggs, whisked
• 1 495g Container of Ricotta Cheese (Mom used to make it with Cottage Cheese but Ryan is strongly against this..lol!)
• 4 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Whipping Cream (35%)
• 1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

• 1 Box Ready-to-Bake Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1. Heat Olive Oil in a large, deep saute pan over med to med-high heat
2. Add onions and celery and cook for approx 3 - 4 min until they begin to soften
3. Add garlic and continue cooking mixture for additional 1 - 2 minutes
4. Add ground beef and sausage meat, and continue cooking until browned, crumbly and cooked through
5. Add tomatoes, broth, parsley, bay leaves, salt and pepper
6. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for approx 10 min
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
8. Combine eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, whipping cream and pepper in a med bowl and mix well
9. Lightly grease a 9" x 13 " baking pan
10. Remove Bay Leaves from sauce
11. Begin by adding approx 2 cups of tomato/meat mixture
12. Add layer of brown rice noodles
13. Add 1/3 of cheese mixture and gently smooth out evenly using back of spoon or spatula
14. Sprinkle on 1/3 of Parmesan
15. Add layer of brown rice noodles
16. Add approx 2 cups tomato/meat mixture
17. Add layer of brown rice noodles
18. Add another 1/3 of cheese mixture
19. Sprinkle on 1/3 of Parmesan
20. Add another layer of brown rice noodles
21. Ladle over the remaining tomato/meat mixture
22. Dot over the remaining cheese mixture
23. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella and remaining Parmesan
24. Cover pan with foil and bake for approx 1 hour 15 minutes
25. Remove the foil paper and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes, until cheese on top begins to brown and bubble
26. Let stand approx 15 min
27. Enjoy!

xo

Me