Loving Lasagna

So after my dinner time freak out of last week, I decided it would be beneficial for me to get back to basics and call on an old faithful, to shuffle back into the meal rotation. And I'm SO glad I did. I am quite sure I've rolled this Lasagna recipe out a hundred times, or more. It was part of my staple diet throughout both pregnancies and is one of our absolute favourites during the cooler months. With the weather over the weekend offering up the perfect conditions required, I broke out the trusty lasagna sheets and started creating...

Easy Lasagna


250g instant lasagna sheets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 carrot (grated)
2 sticks celery (finely sliced)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
500g beef mince (can also be substituted with diced chicken breast for a tasty variation)
5 tbsp tomato paste
1 400g tin diced canned tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated tasty cheese
Grated parmesan cheese (for topping)

Meat Sauce


Heat oil in a saucepan. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic, cook until soft. Add beef mince, cook until brown. Stir in tomato paste, canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and simmer gently for 20 mins.

Bechamel Sauce


Melt butter in another saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes over gentle heat. Remove from heat, stir in milk. Return to heat, stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Add grated tasty cheese, stir over low heat until cheese melts.

Assembly


Preheat over to 180 degrees. Place a layer of lasagna sheets across bottom of a lightly greased baking dish, followed by a layer of meat sauce, then a layer of bechamel sauce. Repeat order, ending with bechamel sauce layer. Sprinkle generously with grated parmesan cheese.
Bake for 35 - 40 mins.
Allow to stand for 5 mins before serving.

Whilst it isn't the prettiest lasagna I've ever seen, it did taste mighty fine and had Scott snooping around for seconds. Of course a meal of this size is just begging to be utilised as a leftover option during the week... another big tick for my old faithful. Bellissimo!