OBX Hurricane Lasagna
On a family vacation to the Outerbanks of North Carolina back in 2016, we were hit by Hurricane Matthew. Prior to the hurricane, we made a trip to the supermarket to gather supplies. We were hard set on vacationing and the only thing we could think to get for supplies consisted of a ton of liquor and fresh ingredients to make a large lasagna. The night before the hurricane, my husband, Kris, made a huge tray of this mind-blowing lasagna. When we woke up the next morning, we were greeted by flooding and no power. We still laugh to this day because despite not being able to leave the house for three days, our booze, lasagna and great company made our vacation one to remember! Here is to my husband’s famous OBX Hurricane Lasagna recipe…
"The best lasagna ever…" - Dee
Feeds: 6-8 People
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Serve w/: Garlic Bread & Salad
Ingredients
1lb of Ground Beef
1lb of Ground Pork
32oz of Ricotta Cheese
4 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
2 Eggs
2 Tablespoons of Finely Chopped Fresh or Dried Basil
2 Tablespoons of Dried Oregano
1 1/2 of Grated or Shredded Parmesean
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1/2 Tablespoon of Red Pepper Flakes
12 Cups of Tomato Sauce (See Grandma Leonardo’s Homemade Tomato Sauce)
1 Box of No-Boil Lasagna Pasta Sheets
4 Cloves of Minced Garlic
6 Cups of Baby Spinach
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper To Taste
1 Dutch Oven or Large Pot
9x13 Baking Dish (Glass, Metal, or Preferred Dish)
Alumninum Foil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat large dutch oven/pot on Medium Heat and then add olive oil to pot.
Add the minced garlic and pepper flakes with olive oil. When garlic starts to perfume, add ground beef and pork mixture. Brown the meat mixture for about 1-2 mins in pot without stirring. After 2 mins of the meat browning, stir. Continue browning meat for an additional 5 mins or until meat mixture is no longer pink.
Add 10 cups of tomato sauce to meat mixture in pot and remove from heat. Be sure to reserve 2 cups of tomato sauce to top lasagna assembly.
Then in a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Only 2 Cups of the Mozzarella, Only 1 cup of the parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, and basil. This will create a cheese mixture for your assembly.
In a 9x13 baking dish, start your lasagna assembly by adding a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of no-boil lasagna sheets, then spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture, continue with a 1/3 of spinach leaves and top with meat sauce. Repeat layers two more times. (Tip: Be sure no-boil lasagna sheets do not overlap when assembling your lasagna layers. You may need to break lasagna sheets to fill in crevices. To easily break no-boil lasagna sheets, wet sheets slightly to allow for clean breakage.)
Finish your lasagna assembly by adding your last layer of lasagna pasta sheets, top with the remaining 2 cups of tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella and parmesan.
Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 45 mins then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 mins for a golden brown top.
Cut into squares (enough for a spatula to handle) and serve.
Mangia!