This post is a placeholder for a future post all about the yums of marinara sauces and the herbs that make them great.
When we plan our garlic harvest we plant to have enough garlic to make this sauce all year long. I’m pleased to present our fantastic Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce Recipe. We use it as spaghetti sauce and as a marinara sauce for pizzas that we make on pita bread too. Garlicy Delish! And as an aspiring herb lady, in my opinion, the fennel seed is what makes this sauce stand out and above all other marinara sauces. We will be writing a lot of articles about fennel. It’s a hot mess in the herb garden but is definitely our friend.
Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons dried basil flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 medium chopped onion
- 1 pound ground Jimmy Dean Italian Premium Pork Sausage
- 1 quart of bottled home-grown tomatoes (or two cans of tomatoes, diced, stewed, sliced, or whole—doesn’t matter; but can’s should be around 14-15 oz each)
- 1 6 oz can of tomato paste (We like Contadina Tomato Paste with Italian Herbs, but regular, generic tomato paste works well also.)
JOHNSON FAMILY LASAGNA SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS
- Brown the sausage, garlic, and onions in a frying pan until cooked through.
- Drain the fat off of the mixture.
- Blend the tomatoes and tomato paste together until smooth in a separate container. (For home-bottled tomatoes, we will often drain off some of the liquid before we blend them to create a thicker sauce.)
- Add the puréed tomatoes and the basil, oregano, fennel, salt, and pepper to the sausage mixture and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
This recipe serves eight adults as a spaghetti sauce in our family. It is good for one pan of lasagna. We’ve always had extra when making our easy pita pizzas. We’d better give you instructions on lasagna and pita pizzas too. Read on!
LASAGNA INSTRUCTIONS
Ingredients:
- Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- 1-2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6 cooked lasagna noodles
Directions:
- layer in a 12×7 baking dish:
- 3 cooked lasagna noodles
- 1/2 of the Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce
- 1/2 of the cottage cheese
- sprinkle of parsley flakes
- 1/2 of the mozzarella
- 1/2 of the parmesan
- And then repeat the above layers on top of that:
- 3 cooked lasagna noodles
- 1/2 of the Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce
- 1/2 of the cottage cheese
- sprinkle of parsley flakes
- 1/2 of the mozzerella
- 1/2 of the parmesan
- Cook uncovered in the oven for about 30 minutes at 375°.
- Serve with garlic bread and salad.
- Feeds 10 adults.
PITA PIZZA INSTRUCTIONS
Ingredients:
- Greek Pita Flat Bread (We like white, but use your favorite brand)
- Mozzerella cheese, shredded
- Favorite pizza toppings like pepperoni, olives, cooked ham, pineapple, feta, mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions, cooked chicken, cooked sausage, sardines…. You name it.
Directions:
Top a pita with Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce, layer it with shredded mozzarella cheese. This is a fun family dinner to make because you can put out a variety of toppings and children can build their own pizzas. Add toppings, and toss the pita pizzas in a 375° oven for five minutes or until the cheese melts. Lazy? Maybe. Easy? Definitely. The great thing about Pita bread is that it is stiff enough you don’t have to toast it beforehand. This is also tasty on toasted English muffins. Kids love to be part of making dinner. A++ family activity.
HD-004 Johnson Family Lasagna Sauce Recipe
Contributor: Sheryl C.S. Johnson