Lasagna

Happy Monday! I can't believe the weekend is over once again. They go by way to quickly and going back to work was hard today. In good news though, only 7 weeks and 4 days left before my last day....not like I'm counting or anything =)
Over the summer, I made a few pans of lasagna and froze them for this fall when I wouldn't feel like making dinner. Well, last week I took advantage of it and pulled one out of the freezer for the easiest, tastiest meal ever. This is a Martin family recipe that has been made hundreds of times for family gatherings, the beach and parties. It's a keeper.

Lasagna

Onion - chopped
2 1/2 lb. ground beef
2 (10 1/2) cans tomato puree
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 cup water
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
Lasagna noodles
2 cups Colby and Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese

1. Saute chopped onions in butter. Add ground beef. Brown and then drain off fat. Add tomato puree, tomato paste and 1 cup of water. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and bay leaf. Mix well. Simmer for 1 hour (sometimes a little extra water is needed when simmering the sauce).

2. While cooking sauce, cook box of noodles so they are both done at the same time. (Sometimes I cheat and use the no cook lasagna noodles instead)

3. Put a little sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish so noodles do not stick.

4. Layer noodles, sauce and cheese (put mozzarella on top for each layer) in casserole. Make 2 layers.

5. Bake about 15-30 minutes or until cheese is melted at 350 degrees.