Streamlined Lasagna

This is the recipe that my mother made when I was growing up. It is not authentic in many ways, but it is delicious comfort food using ingredients that were readily available in a grocery store in the 1970s.

Servings: 6

1 Tbsp oil
½ cup onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, sliced
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp parsley, chopped
15 oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
8 oz lasagne noodles ( 8 slices)
4 oz Swiss cheese, sliced thin
1 ½ cups cottage cheese
parsley, chopped

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute onion until tender.
2. Add ground beef, cook until browned.
3. Mash garlic with salt and add to meat with pepper, oregano, parsley, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. If making ahead, refrigerate sauce until ready to assemble.
5. Preheat oven to 350℉.
6. Cook lasagne noodles until al dente. Drain & cover with cold water.
7. Spread ⅓ of sauce in a 9×13 pan. Top with half each of lasagne noodles, Swiss cheese (reserve 1 slice) & cottage cheese.
8. Repeat, ending with remaining sauce and reserved cheese.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot & bubbly.
10. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

• I prefer “petite diced” tomatoes which are cut into appx ½” pieces. You could also use fresh or frozen tomatoes.
• You can substitute mozzarella for the Swiss cheese and ricotta for the cottage cheese for a more authentic dish.

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Swiss Mushrooms

This recipe was card number 17 of a collection that was sold in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It does not give the name of the company that sold it. I only got a handful of the recipes as a sample set and this was one of only a few that I kept.

1 lb small mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp parsley, chopped

Sauce

1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup half & half
1 cup Swiss cheese or Gruyère

1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. Saute mushrooms in butter. Remove from pan.
3. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Mix with mushrooms.
4. Distribute mixture into 4 small baking dishes.
5. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in paprika.
6. Slowly add half & half and bring to a boil.
7. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.
8. Pour over mushrooms.
9. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

• If mushrooms are large, slice or quarter before sauteing.
  

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