By Michelle Checchini, CRS, Broker Owner of Chelle Realty Co., Ormond Beach, Florida
I am a self-taught cook who learned from watching PBS in the late ‘80s with Julia Child, Graham Kerr and Jeff Smith. Love Italian food? You must try my homemade sauce and lasagna recipe. I created this sauce in the ‘90s and have enjoyed it ever since. It is really easy and delicious. The smell of it cooking on the stove will make you hungry for a good Italian meal.
Moma Mia’s Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon fennel
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
29 oz. can tomato sauce
29 oz. can diced tomatoes (chunky sauce) OR
29 oz. can tomato purée (smooth sauce)
2 teaspoons sugar
¾ cup dry red wine
Instructions
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add onion and stir until translucent and brown. Add the wine, stir and keep lid off. Let the alcohol cook down for a few minutes. Add sauce, tomatoes or purée, garlic, oregano, basil, fennel, salt and pepper, and stir. Cover to cook for another few hours. Add sugar and get ready for a great, healthy Italian sauce.
Lasagna
Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs. gourmet sirloin or any ground beef, chicken, turkey (optional)
Moma Mia’s sauce
9 oz. package of oven-ready lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
Instructions
Heat meat in skillet until cooked and remove excess fat and/or water. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9” x 14” baking dish and using a ladle, cover bottom of dish with sauce. Then, layer ingredients in this order: 4 noodles, ½ meat, two handfuls of mozzarella cheese, ladle of sauce, four noodles, ricotta cheese, four noodles, ladle of sauce, remainder of meat, two handfuls of mozzarella cheese, four noodles, ladle of sauce. Cover with aluminum foil to bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and use remainder of mozzarella cheese and more if you’d like to cover top of the lasagna. Put back in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is browned to your liking. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Helpful Tips
1. The lasagna is best the next day because it has had a chance to set. Have extra sauce available for the leftovers because it tends to soak up sauce as it cools.
2. Be sure to cover lasagna noodles completely with sauce as you layer. The noodles cook by using the sauce juice.
3. You can use ½ Italian sausage and ½ lean hamburger, and this is a very tasty mix.
4. You can use zucchini as a replacement for the wheat noodles— however, they have a high-water content, so be prepared for a more watery lasagna.
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Photo: iStock.com/porosolka
