Top Lasagna Tips For All Lasagna Lovers
Lasagna is actually a fairly effortless dish to prepare. The most important thing to remember is to undercook the pasta. It should be fully flexible, but still have an opaque white center. The reason is simple: the noodles will continue to cook and absorb the liquid from your sauce once you pop it inside the oven.
Since lasagna made from scratch is somewhat time-consuming to prepare, double your batch and freeze the remainder for an instant lasagna dinner later down the line. Just assemble the pasta, wrap it tightly, and place it inside the freezer.
For Vegetarians
Replace the meat. Use roasted vegetables instead. Choose a medley of eggplant, red and yellow bell peppers, and onion, or whatever else happens to suit your fancy. Lasagna’s always have some meat, cheese & sauce.
Just substitute your meat for vegetables. They will taste great and you’re not going to even know that your lasagna is meatless. Add cooked spinach and mushrooms too. They will add flavor too. This vegetable lasagna is surely going to be a hit with your vegetarian friends. They’ll love it!
Add In Cheeses
Consider the types of cheeses that you’d be using and how much you’re going to use them in your lasagna dish. You could use whatever you like but be sure that it won’t change the flavor of your dish. Some cheeses will change the taste. If you want spicy lasagna, try adding in spicy cheeses like a pepperjack cheese.
Also if you really want a good lasagna, add much more cheese than usual. It will make your lasagna taste creamier and cheesier and cheese fanatics will love you for it. Experiment with 2 cheese combinations for your lasagna and see which works best.
Lasagna & Italy
If you’re looking around for that really great tasting lasagna recipe, nothing beats the Italians. So go look for a recipe in an Italian cookbook or if you have Italian friends, you could ask them to lend you their lasagna recipe.
Lasagna is something that’ll surely make everybody happy including your kids. It’s a tasty dish where you incorporate your carbohydrates and protein all in one & have fun eating your vegetables too which is really good for your growing kids.
Do get creative and experiment with some of these tips mentioned here then go and create your own. A little imagination goes a very long way. There is also such a thing as cheat lasagna especially if you don’t have the luxury to prepare them.
Cheater’s lasagna: Use spaghetti sauce from can, and make your cheese sauce by thinning ricotta with little bit of water. Just brown the meat, add spaghetti sauce, and you’re ready to start layering.
10 Easy Steps To Get A Perfect Lasagna
Who doesn’t love Lasagna? Cheesy layers of lasagna can make even those lactose intolerant individuals suddenly become tolerant, even if only for a moment. It’s about time that we give it a bit of a makeover. Here are 10 tips to making that perfect lasagna.
1. Most lasagnas can be prepared a day before. Refrigerate it overnight. Let lasagna come to room temperature before baking. If you have a big party then be sure to make or prepare your lasagna ahead of time so that you will not spend much time slaving away in your kitchen.
2. Do not be guilty by making fresh pasta sheets. Use a pasta machine, to make them appear thin, delicate and easy to make. Just get an easy-to-follow recipe then make your lasagna noodles fresh. It will make all the difference in your lasagna.
3. Don’t be afraid to use “no-boil” pasta. These noodles are an ideal time-saver and make delicious lasagna.
4. Get creative. You may use crepes, tortillas or sheets of phyllo dough in place of your lasagna noodles. Don’t be afraid to use a substitute. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
5. Don’t worry about irregular sizes of noodles or crepes while assembling your lasagna. Piece them together and they will set up fine when baked. The key is not to worry too much, it will come together just fine.
6. Mix and match. Many noodles & fillings can be interchanged. No cut and dried rule here, it’s all up to you on what layering you decide to do for your lasagna.
7. An easy “free form” lasagna can be ideal pasta for a first course. When you’re choosing your cheeses, make sure to choose those high-quality and soft cheeses so that your lasagna will be creamier. You could use mozzarella and cheddar together.
8. Lasagna is a perfect “make-ahead” meal for entertaining. You only need to add salad and a bowl fresh fruits for desserts. The lasagna is like a complete meal. You have your meat and your carbs (noodles). If possible, make your meat filling from scratch as this adds more flavor and taste to your already great dish.
9. For baked pastas, or “lazy lasagna”, be sure to slightly undercook it, as it’s bound to continue to cook while baking. Make sure that you don’t cook your pasta thoroughly when you boil them if there is still baking as the last step in its cooking process.
10. Don’t skimp. Always use fresh whole milk for a Bechamel sauce and whole milk cheeses for lasagna filling. Now is not the time to do it healthy. For great taste and flavor, use ingredients as they are listed. Don’t substitute. Just eat it in moderation.
Things You Need To Know About Vegetarian Lasagna
Traditional tomato-based vegetarian lasagna is just so easy. It’s very healthy and is undoubtedly delicious. It will be a real crowd pleaser when you serve it during parties or gatherings. The problem with some Vegan Lasagna though, is that the veggies usually end up tasting bland and overcooked, the noodles comes up leathery, and will appear too dry or oozy rich.
Here are some tips to have the most delicious Vegan Lasagna ever.
1. Use oven-ready or those “no-boil” noodles. Thin, no-boil lasagna noodles are highly recommended. Thinner noodles mean more layers, resulting in a better-looking, flavorful lasagna dish.
2. Soak oven-ready noodles in hot, salty water. These noodles need moisture to soften (and thus rob water from the dish during baking). Presoaking ensures moist, seasoned lasagna.
3. Make quick, highly seasoned sauces. Without meat so it will even be richer, vegetable lasagnas might be bland. Boost the flavor by adding garlic cloves into the milk, using canned broth for part of the milk and adding Parmesan cheese.
4. Season and quickly cook the veggies before assembly. Bland vegetables will not be magically transformed during baking.
5. Add some more vegetables to its sauce, such as onions and red pepper. Have it for dinner tonight and freeze the leftovers for another night.
6. Cover the lasagna with foil and place towards the oven’s upper-middle rack at a high temperature. The quicker the lasagna is heated, the less chance of having an overcooked vegetables.
7. Remove the foil and brown it under the broiler, for it will be better this way.
8. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Warm lasagna slices are better than a hot one.
And, here are a few more tips to keep your vegetable lasagna from slip sliding:
1) Don’t add too many water-rich veggies like raw mushrooms or zucchini between the layers. They’ll release a lot of moisture through cooking, and will appear “runny”. If you’d want to put more veggies, cook them down first, either through saut
What Do You Think About A Sumptuous Lasagna Dish
Lasagna is, 1 of Italy’s signature dishes, and as such subject to innumerable variations. Lasagna appeals to the eye as well as to our taste buds. Preparing this dish a day ahead and refrigerating overnight allows the spices to melt and give exceptional flavor.
In Italy, but especially all over the whole world, many lasagna variations exist. We have the vegetable lasagna, lasagna without b
How To Make A Delicious Lasagna
Lasagna is generally known as a very meaty dish, high in calories. In addition, this is also time-consuming to prepare. It has also been known as a slightly complicated and potentially time consuming recipe to prepare. However, these may not always be true. A vegetarian lasagna recipe breaks all the old concepts and other complication that comes in preparing this recipe.
Preparing a delicious vegan lasagna recipe is in fact, so easy. One useful tip is to just do away with boiling the noodles by using oven ready lasagna noodles instead. You can also always have bunches of pre cut and diced vegetables in your storage bin so that all you have to do every time you prepare a vegetarian lasagna recipe is to add the pre diced vegetables and sauce on oven ready noodles.
The truth is that there are probably hundreds of variations to a typical vegan lasagna recipe. The key therefore is to come up with mix of vegetable ingredients those suites your taste. You can use only the vegetables that your family usually loves to eat. It would be great to follow someone else’s vegan lasagna recipe first and you can then attempt to make modifications to it according to your taste.
You can apply techniques in lasagna variation. Some techniques include dicing and chopping vegetables very finely to come up with a more packed vegetarian lasagna recipe. You can also just simply experiment the amount of ingredients that you include.
You may for example increase cheeses and sauce if you love a creamy vegetarian lasagna recipe. Or you can add other non-typical lasagna vegetables like the slightly bitter spinach for an unusual taste.
Sometimes the key to a truly tasty vegetarian lasagna recipe is to practice being creative and be very generous with your sauce and spices. You may for example add more crushed tomatoes rather than adding tomato sauce to improve the texture and taste.
You can also add white vegetable cream sauce, not only a tomato sauce, in order to change the taste.
To save time, you can make lasagna sauce ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen until you are ready to make the entire dish.
You can also assemble the pasta ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to bake it. Just transfer the frozen lasagna directly from the freezer towards your oven and add 15 minutes to its cooking time.
You may consider using “no-boil” noodles. These noodles are a great time-saver and make delicious lasagna. Don’t worry about irregular sizes of noodles or crepes while assembling your lasagna. Piece them together and they will set up fine during baking.
Have fun and make that really delicious lasagna and do try out these tips that I have listed here so that you can have a stress-free lasagna meal ready.
A Quick Guide To Prepare A Great Lasagna Dish
Here are some tips on preparing a great lasagna recipe:
For those who prefer making their own noodles, your lasagna will surely be wonderful and memorable. However, it is almost as good if you’ll use store-bought noodles, and much easier. Do not bother with cooking the noodles – just layer them with sauce when ready. They will cook just fine as it is being baked and you’ll skip the mess of boiling and draining them.
Brown the beef and sausage altogether using a frying pan. Use a spicy sausage if you like it to be spicy, or find one with Italian seasoning. The most preferred way to stir the meat is by breaking it up into small pieces while it is browning, and to use two forks – one in each hand.
Once the meat is browned, drain off as much fat as possible. Turn the burner to low, and stir the browned meat while adding the canned sauce. If you prefer, make your own sauce by adding two cans of tomato sauce, oregano, garlic, and onions. However, it is much easier to control the spices if you’ll use your favorite canned sauce.
While the meat sauce is simmering, put the cottage cheese into a bowl and stir it together with 2 eggs and about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. The eggs will help bind the cottage cheese so it won’t appear sloppy when you serve it. Stir these three ingredients together completely and set aside.
If your mozzarella cheese isn’t grated, buy an already grated cheese in a packet or just grate it yourself, into another bowl. Get your baking dish ready by spraying it with a non-stick cooking spray. Arrange your bowls of cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, & meat sauce, near the baking dish. Put them in the same order, as you’ll use them in layering your lasagna to make it smoother.
Start with a thin layer sauce; place the noodles side by side over it, covering it entirely with noodles. Break them up, to fit the ends of baking dish, if necessary. The next layer is the egg and cheese mixture.
Use enough to cover the noodles completely about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick. Now pour the grated mozzarella, again about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle a liberal volume of Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella and start all over with your layers.
You should be able to generate two complete layers on a dish, and topmost layer should be full of cheeses. Put dish in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the top cheese layer is bubbly and slightly brown. Serve it hot with a nice salad and some garlic bread or put it in the refrigerator to heat up the next day.
Make A Delicious & Healthy Spinach Lasagna
Lasagna has always been a centerpiece in most Italian daily or celebratory meals. It is always present in Italian festivities and so it is also present in our dinner table during special occasions or even just during Sunday meals with the family.
Spinach lasagna is quite easy to prepare and this lasagna dish does not need lots of ingredients and aside from that it doesn’t need any special cooking techniques to prepare it too. What you just need are frozen spinach leaves that have been chopped already. It’s okay to make use either frozen or fresh ones.
If you’re using the frozen one, thaw them in your fridge before chopping them up. Just be sure to place them onto a clean plate so that water from defrosting doesn’t spill onto your counters. I always like purchasing ingredients days ahead before I prepare the lasagna so that it will not be much of a problem later on.
Aside from the spinach that we are using, there’s also some other basic ingredients that are needed. You will need some garlic (minced). The amount will depend on your love of garlic. I’m a garlic lover so I always use around 10 to 12 garlic cloves for 1 pan of lasagna.
Aside from garlic, you’d also need some tomatoes. Better if they’re already peeled. The canned ones are good. Also don’t forget to bring out your spices and assorted herbs to make your spinach lasagna more flavorful. Oregano, Italian seasoning and parsley are the best ones to add to the dish.
Any type of lasagna noodle is ok to use. You can even mix up wheat or the regular type of lasagna noodles. It’s not a problem at all. Also, about 4-5 cupfuls of your remaining grated cheese (mozzarella) is needed too.
Blend together all your spices, 4 c of mozzarella, the spinach, tomatoes & garlic inside a big bowl. Set aside the remaining cheese for sprinkling atop the dish. Spread a very thin meat sauce layer onto your pan’s bottom. Next, layer out the noodles & put some of your sauce atop your noodles. Continue doing this just until your noodles are all layered into your pan. For top finishing, spread a bit of sauce and layer with the grated mozzarella.
If you’re wanting a bit of added taste, parmesan could be grated atop to form a very thin crust together with the mozzarella. Drizzle water in the sides of your pan to prevent your spinach lasagna from drying up when its cooking.
Put your pan inside an oven that has been preheated to around 350 deg. for about 45 mins. Cover lasagna using foil in the 1st 45 mins of cooking time. After 45 mins. take foil from off the pan then check to see if edges have dried up or not. If the dish has dried up, add some more water.
Put back in the oven and cook without a cover for another 15 to 20 mins until the top gets a bit crispy. You can serve this lasagna dish together with some garlicky bread or vegetables
Why Is Lasagna Such A Crowd Pleaser
The word “lasagna” comes from the Greek word “lasanon,” which means chamber pot. The word eventually evolved to mean cooking pot. The Italians originally used the word to mean a dish in which the food was cooked. What makes this dish very enticing?
You’ll just fall in love with the classic lasagna recipe as it’s not only very tasty but is also very nourishing, depending on the mixture of ingredients that you’d make use of. A lasagna dish is very delicious and will surely please those picky kids who might not get enough of nutrients in their body.
“Lasagna” now refers to both the flat sheets of pasta as well as the yummy, cheesy dish made with those pasta sheets. Some recipes call for more than one cheese, most often ricotta and mozzarella. Mozzarella is made on the southern part of Italy, so the use of these two cheeses is typical of those lasagna made in Naples or further south.
Lasagnas are similar to sandwiches, because you could put anything between the layers and it’s still lasagna. In America, that tends to mean a super size stack of tomato sauce, cheese, and vegetables, what-have-you–with calorie counts and fat grams to match.
In Italy, however, lasagna is almost restrained by comparison, yet still delicious. Springtime lasagna might be delicately flavored with young artichokes, while in autumn; you’ll find layers of pasta mingling with woodsy fresh porcini and winter squash.
Lasagna begins with your favorite tomato sauce. You could use any spaghetti sauce that you really like or if you’re in hurry, then use pasta sauce from a jar; prepare it so that it’s slightly watery. This is because the sauce has a long way to go before it finally hits your taste buds. After simmering and then baking, you don’t want to end up with sauce that’s too thick.
Many recipes about lasagnas are made without pre-cooking the noodles. The moisture and heat from the other ingredients will cook the noodles as your lasagna dish bakes. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the cover for another 20 minutes to let the sauce thicken. Use a non-reactive glass or ceramic dish when you’re baking to avoid a reaction with the acidic tomato sauce.
Assemble your lasagna in advance, and then store uncooked lasagna on the fridge overnight, or you could freeze it to cook later. Now, who can resist those towering layers of noodles, bubbly melted cheese and tasty sauce with rich filling?
Lasagna could be as simple or as complex as you desire. Use lasagna as a rule for life: Experiment, learn and have fun. That’s basically the secret in enjoying a perfectly made sumptuous lasagna recipe.
Prepare A Delicious Lasagna At Low Cost
Most people are fond of eating lasagna. It’s the kind of dish that’s loved by people from all walks of life. It’s even considered the most famous pasta dish available.
You just need a noodle, ground meat and bunch of cheeses! You’ll already have the most delicious Italian dish! This dish is so popular and it’s probably because these dishes are so easy to prepare and they’re the perfect meal to be served to guests and will definitely be loved by many.
I prefer to serve this dish because it’s the kind of meal favored by most of my friends. It’s even possible to prepare it ahead. So if you’re having a party, just bake it the day before, and keep it on a fridge then microwave it on the following day and so you’ll already have it ready to be served!
You could also serve it with bread – garlic bread is just the perfect choice. Be very creative by substituting some ingredients, like instead of using beef as meat, use the turkey meat instead. Whichever way you want it, you’ll still come up with this very sumptuous lasagna dish.
Since many love lasagna, there are so many recipes available for this dish. Just follow any of these recipes or buy those already cooked Lasagna in grocery stores. You’ll usually find readily cooked Lasagna in your local grocery store and it usually costs below %10.
However, expect that these packed lasagnas will not be as tasty as those home-cooked ones. Therefore, if you’ve got enough time to prepare for one, then you might just cook it yourself. You could prepare this delicious dish in only a few minutes, especially if you’ve already mastered the steps in preparing a basic lasagna dish. And again, to avoid any inconveniences, it’s better to prepare it a day before.
You’ll soon be tempted to modify your usual recipe, which makes it even more exciting. You could also make the noodles by yourself too! However, most cooks would prefer to buy that ready-made Lasagna pasta on a supermarket. This will surely save them a lot of precious time.
Here’s a Recipe that’s very easy to prepare and costs less.
Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside. In your skillet, brown the beef, onion, and mushrooms; drain well. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and basil.
In your 2-quart buttered baking dish, layer about 1/3 noodle, 1/3 of sauce. 1/3 of ricotta cheese, then Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice. Bake lasagna at 350 deg. F for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and bubbly. Let stand for 8 to 10 min. then you slice it and serve. Serves 6 to 8.
Save Your Time & Money And Prepare Your Own Lasagna
It’s no surprise that the Italian cuisine is famous in the whole world & the most known in Italian cuisines are the pastas, most especially the “lasagna”.
Lasagna is a very versatile type of dish where you could adopt your very own versions and get creative with its filling. Basically though a simple lasagna would call for ricotta, tomato sauce, ground beef or veal and then lasagna noodles.
You could add thyme, rosemary or some peppers for a spicier version or you could also use lots of different meat combinations like combining ground turkey, ground sausage or ground chicken to compensate for the beef or veal.
But there’s also the vegetarian approach where you substitute veggies for the meats. They make for healthier versions of lasagnas and are going to be good for your kids.
Some recipes stay in our repertoire because they’re easy to fix, relatively inexpensive, and best yet, most people love them. The classic, family-favorite lasagna are among these recipes.
Save money and time in preparing this delicious lasagna without rolling out the pasta dough, or even toiling over a stove to cook the sauce. The Recipe qualifies as a “quick-meal”, because it requires no-cook noodles.
Yes, it uses a no-cook noodle. These noodles are found in your grocery store’s pasta section. This means that making lasagnas just requires piling up the sauce, noodles, and cheese. You don’t need to spend time pre-boiling the pasta.
But there’s also a much healthier and less expensive alternative, you could spend a little bit of time making your very own lasagna noodle. It will taste great because of the freshness of the noodles and it’ll be quite a satisfactory feeling for you too since you’re the one who made them.
By using those packages of grated cheese, you’ll save more time on grating the cheese. Of course, you’ll save money, too if you’d buy the cheese in blocks and grate it yourself. And by the way, those no-cook noodles are more expensive than those regular noodles.
Yes, time and money are typically trade-offs. If you’ll have one, you’ll lack the other. But with this recipe, you’ll save both time and money, especially if the meat is replaced with veggies.
You could also add some greenery to your dish, like stir-in a thawed package of frozen chopped spinach or broccoli, and egg mixture. This way, you’d be able to sneak-in vegetables into your children’s stomachs, without them noticing it.
As in all lasagnas, cheeses are a key ingredient. Use quality cheese and you’ll have to burn the noodles to keep it from being edible and palatable. Remember this when you’re trying to decide whether or not to spend extra money on fresh, high-quality mozzarella and Parmesan to bake into that lasagna.
Discover The Fast & Easy Lasagna Recipe For All Busy Moms
Only few people are aware that some famous restaurants don’t actually make their ingredients on their own. That restaurant I once worked at is doing this. They actually buy everything at a store that sells ready-cooked bread, ready-packed veggies, and already-shaped dough.
They just need to unpack these things, prepare, and bake in their oven before serving it up to their guests. This way, they’d be able to save ample time, so that’s really efficient. Isn’t it?
It’s better if you’ll apply this inside your very own kitchen too. Rather than making everything, why won’t you consider buying these ready-made ingredients instead? Although some are just lucky enough to have plenty of time for they don’t do other household chores.
However, most housewives, like us are busy tending our kids, and cleaning the house. I believe it’s just so convenient to cook Lasagna by buying those packets of noodles, canned sauces and ready-cooked ground meat.
The first thing is to choose the best-packaged noodles. Visit the nearest local grocery stores or if you’re from a place where there’s Italian restaurant, then try checking out with them. Some of these restaurants are selling their own ingredients.
You’d be sure that you’d get the most delicious ingredients if you’ll choose to buy from them. Read the package instructions carefully for procedures in cooking the noodles, so not to have it “overcooked”. This is very important especially that noodles used for lasagna need not be cooked well, because it will be baked. Once you overcook the noodles, it will appear mushy once it’s baked.
Once you’re done with preparing the noodles, prepare your fillings next. Again, choose the very best ingredients available. Italian restaurants probably sell the most delicious Italian tomato sauces that are ideal for lasagna filling. As for your ground meat, choose the freshest meat available on your supermarket.
Be very creative with your recipe, too! Substitute some ingredients, like replacing your meat with veggies, such as mushrooms and spinach, to have healthier, tastier Lasagna!
Now that you’re finish preparing the fillings, you may start the layering of ingredients inside the baking dish. Remember to use generous amount of cheeses unto it. This is what makes this dish so delicious. Creamy, cheesy lasagna would just be so hard to resist.
Grease your baking dish, and then start the first layer with noodles up. Then pour the cheese, thick enough to wrap the noodles. Add the prepared filling then place another set of noodles. Repeat this process until you reach the final set of layering. Afterwards, bake the layered ingredients for about 30mins.
That’s about everything! In less than an hour, you already have the most delicious Italian Lasagna that your loved ones can enjoy!
Discover The Italian Original Lasagna Recipe
Lasagna, like everything else in Italy, varies considerably from region to region; in much of the South you’ll find it cooked with tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, or tomato sauce with meatballs, but you can also find it added with fish, or made with greens and vegetables, and in this respect Liguria’s refreshing summer lasagna with pesto sauce comes to mind.
In Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, however, Lasagna is winter comfort food, made with Sugo alla Bolognese and b
How To Make A Great Italian Lasagna
For many Italian-Americans, a lasagna dish is the centerpiece of every Christmas meal. It is a layer of sauce, noodles, meat and cheeses, making every bite come alive with flavor.
Most are classically prepared with meat and modern Italian chefs have started spicing up lasagna by substituting everything from spaghetti to vegetables. The key to making successful lasagna is by making sure your pan is big enough to fit all layers. Here are the steps.
1. For meat sauce, crumble ground beef into a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Brown until meat loses its pink color. Spoon off and discard fat. Stir in spices. Cook until soft.
2. Press tomatoes and juice through sieve into meat mixture; discard seeds. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to simmer until sauce thickens. Set aside.
3. Add lasagna noodles to boiling salted water, allowing noodles to soften and fit inside the pot. Cook until al dente.
4. Drain noodles. Rinse it with cold water afterwards. Drain a second time and stack individually over pot rim to prevent sticking. Set aside.
5. Grease 12 X 8-inch baking dish with butter. Spread noodles in a single layer on clean kitchen (not paper) towel. Pat noodles dry.
6. Arrange three lasagna noodles on a baking dish, in a single layer, while overlapping slightly.
7. Spread evenly half of your meat sauce to your noodles. Spread half the cheese over meat sauce in an even layer. Repeat layers once.
8. Arrange three lasagna noodles on top. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly on your lasagna to completely cover lasagna noodles.
9. Bake in preheated oven as directed. Let stand before you serve it.
Here is a recipe at its simplest. Modify it to your own taste by adding any extra ingredients to its sauce. It serves six to eight people. You may substitute the different cheeses for other kinds you like, in order to change the flavor.
Crush basil leaves by breaking or tearing them with your fingers. Set aside. Warm extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan, and add one garlic clove cut in half. Allow clove to sizzle for three to four minutes without letting it get too brown. Remove the garlic.
Add tomato sauce to the hot oil and stir. Add crushed basil leaves. Put on very low heat, cover and allow simmering for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the tomato sauce simmers, fill a large pasta pot with 4 to 5 quarts water and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.
Carefully place lasagna noodles on a boiling water and stir occasionally to ensure noodles do not stick together. Cook until al dente (slightly chewy). Drain the noodles, but do not rinse them. Generously oil your 10-by-18-inch baking dish. Cover pan with lasagna noodles. Spread your prepared sauce onto the noodles with a spoon and top with a little of each type of cheese.
Repeat layers until pan is full, saving most cheese for the topmost layer. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. (You may need to cover it for the 10 minutes to melt the cheese then uncover it for the last 10 minutes to brown it.). Let stand for about 10 min., and serve.