Cream Cheese Lasagna

One rule that I try to adhere to is that when we go out to eat, I don't order something that I can make (or make better) at home. I used to order lasagna a lot because it seemed really complicated. This recipe that I've been tweaking for a while now is not complicated and it is definitely better than most lasagnas I ever get in a restaurant these days (save that one little hole in the wall in Venice that I can't remember the name of). You can thank me later.

Cream Cheese Lasagna

2lbs. ground beef (I use as lean as I can find)
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves onion, chopped
1 can of tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) of tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 beef bouillon
½ cup of water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
¼ cup of sour cream
1 cup of cottage cheese
2 eggs beaten

Lasagna noodles (I use the ones from Trader Joe's that you don't have to cook first which is the true thing that simplifies this whole recipe)
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Meat Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add the grown beef and cook until browned. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, parsley, bouillon and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cream Cheese Sauce

In a medium sized bowl, beat the two eggs. Add in the other ingredients and thoroughly combine (mixture doesn’t have to be completely smooth).

Assemble the Lasagna

Layer a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of a lightly greased baking dish. (You can use whatever size baking dish you have – the smaller it is, the more lasagna layers you will have but just make sure it will hold everything).

Add a layer of lasagna noodles over the meat sauce. Spoon on the cream cheese mixture. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese. Continue layering until your baking dish is full – I usually have two complete layers. You want to plan accordingly so that the mozzarella cheese ends up on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I like to serve with a simple salad.