Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables Lasagna

Servings: 15-20 people

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. medium ground beef
• 450 g marble cheese
• 300 g ricotta cheese
• 441 g cottage cheese
• 1 pack of oven ready lasagna strips (need 20 lasagna strips for this dish)
• 2 cans of pasta sauce (680 mL each)
• 1 kg of mixed vegetables bag
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/5 teaspoon clove powder
• 1 medium onion
• 5-6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground ginger

Directions:

In a deep pan, place the ground beef, onion (cut into slices), ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into the pot, on low-medium heat.

Keep mixing every few minutes. After 10 minutes of mixing, put the lid on the pot for 6 minutes.

After 6 minutes, remove the lid, and let the water dry, on medium-high heat. Continue to mix until all the water is gone and a little bit moisture remains.

Turn the heat onto low. add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, cumin powder, and clove powder. Mix everything again.

If you see any big pieces of the ground beef, use the spatula to break it apart into smaller pieces. Turn off the heat and set aside (or if preparing for the lasagna a day before, let it cook and put in the fridge).

Pour in 1kg of mixed vegetables into a pot. Pour 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (from the 1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup water. Turn the heat onto medium. After 20 minutes, the vegetables will be ready (or until there is no water in the pot).

Once the vegetables are done, turn off the heat and add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, and set aside (or cool it and place in fridge).

Note: if you want to use fresh vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, etc) you will have to stir fry them instead.

Shred the whole brick of cheese. Take 1/4 of the shredded cheese and mix with ricotta cheese and cottage cheese in a bowl. (I will refer to this mixture as the '3 cheese mixture')

Open both the sauces, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder into each of the cans and mix. 

Although, I used oven-ready lasagna strips, I still put them in boiling water for 10 minutes.

When the water starts boiling, add in 2 teaspoons salt, 3 table spoons of cooking oil and place all the strips in the pot, and turn off the heat. In 10 minutes they will become a little soft.

Take a big baking dish (where you can place at least 5 lasagna strips side by side with approximately 2 cm space in between, because when they cook in the oven, the strips will expand.

First oil the dish. Then place 5 strips, each 2 cm apart.

Then spread 1 big tablespoon of the pasta sauce on each of the strips, and also spread a tablespoon of the cheese, ricotta, cottage mix onto each of the strips (see picture).

Now add/spread half of the ground beef.

Now, place 5 strips again, add in the sauce, and the cheese, ricotta, cottage mix, all like mentioned before.

Then add in all the vegetables, as shown in the picture.

Then again, place 5 strips, each 2cm apart, sauce, 3 cheese mixture, and then the rest of the ground beef.

Place the last 5 strips on top, and spread rest of the sauce on top.

Cover the tray, properly, with foil paper turn on the oven at 350 degrees. Place the tray on the middle rack, and bake for up to 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, loosen the foil and poke a knife through the opening. If the knife goes in soft/smoothly all the way down, then turn off the oven, and take out the tray. Spread the rest of the marble cheese on top. Turn the oven on low broil, and place the tray on the middle rack (no cover). When all the cheese has melted, turn off the oven, and take out the dish and let it settle for 15-20 minutes before serving.

after taking the foil off

Ready to serve