When I saw oven-ready lasagna noodles that required no boiling I was skeptical. But when I tried them, they worked out just fine, in fact, the finished dish was a bit easier to serve because you stack the noodles instead of crisscrossing them. The meat sauce that the noodles will absorb should be a little on the loose side as the following sauce is. Use whole milk mozzarella over part-skim or pre-shredded for the best flavor.

Sue Kleber

Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a Dutch oven until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the meat and the tomato paste and sauté until brown. Stir to prevent the tomato paste from burning. Add the seasonings and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the full can of pureed tomatoes and the drained diced tomatoes and cook covered for about 45 minutes.

Ricotta Mixture
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley and 2 tsp dried basil
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

1 pound whole milkmozzarella cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
12 sheets uncooked oven-ready lasagne noodles

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place about half a cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a greased deep 9 by 13 baking dish. Place three noodles across the dish, separating them so they do not touch. They will swell as they bake and absorb the sauce. Divide 9 rounded tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles and press lightly to spread. Top with a cup of the shredded mozzarella. Divide a cup and a half of the meat sauce over the mozzarella. Repeat the noodle, ricotta, mozzarella and sauce layering two more times. Top with the last three noodles. Pour the last of the sauce over the noodles and top with the final cup of mozzarella. Top with the 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese is light brown. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting.