Lasagna - Northern Style

Lasagna! Today was Summer's first lasagna... imagine? For my first try I think I did really well (the man "loved" it!),  When it comes to lasagna... I love Northern style lasagna which is so creamy (it's orange in color). I had this style for the first time in Venice and fell in love! Then I was lucky enough to find it again when Dan and I went out to eat with Evan and Erica at an Italian joint in Manhattan. That's when I began to realize this was actually a certain style of lasagna. Usually I get the pretty basic tomato sauce, ricotta and pasta type.. this is much more... flavorful and complex... like a full-bodied wine!

Ingredients:
Lasagna pasta
tomato sauce
alfredo sauce or other creamy sauce
onion
pepper
carrots
steamed tomatoes (or diced)
ground beef
ricotta cheese
parmesan


First get some water boiling to cook your lasagna. I used 9 sheets, it depends on your baking dish. While the water was getting to a boil I cooked my ground beef on a skillet until all the pink was gone. Then I poured out any fat and put the meat to the side. Then in the same skillet I sauteed my chopped vegetables in a little oil and also added my tomatoes. I would suggest getting excess juice out of them first. I cooked my pasta and then drained it and splashed it with cold water so I could handle it. Preheat the oven to 375. In one bowl I mixed my red and white sauce with my ground meat. Then I began the fun process of layering. First, three sheets of pasta went down. On top of that went my sauce/meat mix, and then my veggie mix. Then I put some dabs of ricotta cheese with sprinkled Parmesan. Repeat! Be creative. I cooked it for about 35 minutes with tin foil on top for the first 25 minutes. I kept it uncovered for the remaining 10 minutes. Let it cool for another 10 minutes before you dig in!