I am no chef, but there are a few things I take pride in cooking. One of them being wild game meats. Most of my time is spent outside with the grill, but every once in a while I can put something together in the kitchen. This is a fairly easy lasagna recipe that I have put together. It may not be ideal for a royal palace, but it will keep your friends and family happy, and leave them with full bellies!

This recipe makes one 9x13 dish. You can adjust the quantities of your ingredients accordingly for more or less.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of ground meat (can be venison, or really any kind of ground meat or beef)

• One 32 oz. container of Ricotta Cheese

• One 32 oz. bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

• 2 eggs

• Oven-ready lasagna noodles

• 32 oz. of Tomato sauce

• Basil (and/or oregano)

• Garlic powder

• Salt

• Course ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a stove-top pan, cook and brown your ground meat of choice. If needed, drain any fat once complete.

2. In a large mixing bowl, include the ricotta cheese, HALF of the bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 eggs, and 2 tbsp. of basil (or oregano). Mix using a potato masher or similar utensil until you have an even consistency.

3. Open your tomato sauce, and drizzle a little on the bottom of your 9x13 dish. Spread it around so just enough covers the entire bottom of the dish. Place your first layer of noodles on the bottom of the dish. I prefer the oven ready noodles, which do not require boiling prior. But if you prefer to cook your own noodles, then by all means do so.

4. On top of your noodles, spread a layer of your ricotta cheese mixture, using a spatula. Completely cover the noodles and the corners of the dish where the noodles aren’t. This is important for every layer, as it will keep your sauce from cooking up in the corners and edges.

5. On top of your cheese, disperse a layer of ground meat. My recipe calls for 1.5 lbs, but if your prefer a meatier dish, you can cook more. Once your meat is in, poor tomato sauce on top and spread evenly with a spatula. Do not be too generous with your sauce, as this will cause the lasagna to be too runny.

6. Take your garlic powder, salt, and ground pepper and lightly sprinkle each on top of your sauce. This adds some extra seasoning. If you used plain tomato sauce with no basil, you can also lightly sprinkle some basil or oregano at this point. If you are like me, and have family members who can’t eat basil, then the garlic/salt/pepper mix ends up being an acceptable substitute. Once complete, top with another layer of noodles.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 until you fill the dish.

8. You should be looking at a layer of noodles on top at this point. Your final step is to take the other half of your bag of shredded mozzarella cheese and completely cover the top of your dish. Make sure your noodles and the edges of your dish are covered.

9. You are ready to bake! Heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and put your lasagna in for 45 minutes. I recommend checking at 30 minutes and closely monitoring from there, as these days you never know how well calibrated your oven is (or mine for that matter).

10. Cook until your top layer of cheese is golden brown in color, with a little darker color/crust on the edges. You can also literally “stick a fork in it” to ensure your noodles are soft. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Pretty easy right? You now know my secrets, and hopefully you and yours can now enjoy this great meal same as mine!

-Sam Thrash, Fall Obsession CEO