Lasagna with or without meat

Lasagna by memory

• 10 ounces, Lasagna Noodles- cooked al dente
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• 1-1.5 pounds of ground beef or bulk Italian sausage (half of each) browned/drained
• 1 whole Onion Chopped ~ 1 cup
• 4 cloves Garlic (or 4 Tb minced garlic)
• 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning
• 1 whole Bell Pepper, Diced
• 8 ounces, White Mushrooms, Chopped (Optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped Celery
• 1/2 cup White Wine as needed to saute veggies 
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1 large can (28 Ounce) petite diced Tomatoes
• 1 quart favorite spaghetti sauce - or enough to make sauce right consistency
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• 24 ounces, Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, Chopped (more To Taste
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• 12 slices Swiss Cheese
• 1 pound Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

(for veggie lasagna, replace meat with 8 cups of zucchini/summer squash/mushroom/carrots combination of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package directions.

Brown the meat in a large skillet and drain. Add onions and garlic and cook for a minute. Add diced peppers and celery and saute for another minute or so. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Pour in wine, add salt, pepper, and seasoning and stir.  Pour in tomatoes and sauce. Stir to combine and let simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and  chopped parsley.  Stir well..

To assemble, spread a little of the vegetable/tomato sauce in a lasagna pan. Layer four cooked noodles in the pan, slightly overlapping them if necessary. Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture on the noodles. Top the cottage cheese mixture with swiss slices and sprinkle with mozzarella. Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the meat sauce mixture over the mozzarella.

Repeat the layering two more times, ending with a large helping of sauce and a sprinkling of Mozzarella.

Bake at 350 degrees, for 60 minutes?  When the sauce is bubbly and cheese is slightly brown (thermometer for above 185 degrees in the middle)  Cover with tinfoil if the top is getting too brown.  Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10-30 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.  It's actually better the next day....