LASAGNA

la·sa·gna

la·sa·gnas Plural
NOUN 
1. 
pasta dish: a dish of Italian origin consisting of alternate layers of pasta sheets and filling, especially alternating pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, and usually ground meat, baked in the oven. Various other sauces or fillings may also be used.
2. 
sheets of pasta: thin flat sheets of fresh or dried pasta, which are generally layered with sauces or other ingredients, then baked

Traditional, I Guess?  This was the first time I have ever made Lasagna that I did not follow a recipe.  And, it turned out OK, I guess.  There are a couple of thing I would have done a little differently, but for the most part, I think, I sort of know what I am doing.

This is how it came about:
-~2Tbsp. Olive Oil in Large Pasta Pot.
-Browned (and then drained) ~2.25Lbs. Ground Beef, S&P.
-Added to Beef (1 processed sweet onion, 2 processed stalks celery, 2 processed med carrots, ~4 tsp. minced garlic), Let the veggies sweat a few minutes.
-Added to Beef and Veg mixture (1-28oz. can crushed tomato, 1-15o. can chopped tomato {not drained}, 1-15oz. can tomato sauce), also added (2tsp ea of dried basil, oregano, and marjoram)
-Lid was placed on sauce to let simmer while ricotta and béchamel were prepared.
-Béchamel was prepared with 4 Tbsp. Butter, ~1/4 c. Flour, 3 c. warmed Whole Milk.  When béchamel was thickened 8oz. cream cheese was stirred in.  Nutmeg, salt, and white pepper were added to the Béchamel to taste.
-24 oz. of Ricotta was mixed with 2 eggs; 1 Tbsp. dried Parsley, 2 tsp. salt, and 1tsp. black pepper.
-This Recipe makes ~2 pans (9″x13″) ea.
-I used no boil noodles (How wonderful are they?)
This is how the Lasagnas were stacked up:
~1-2 c. sauce
~6 noodles
~1c. Ricotta Mixture (spread over noodles)
~1c. Béchamel
~1 c. shredded mozzarella
– Repeat Layers One Time (use all ricotta and meat sauce)
-Next, one more layer of noodles topped with any remaining béchamel, and mozzarella.
-Bake at 375 covered for 50 min.  Uncover and bake at 450 for 10 min more to brown cheese.
-Rest 20 min.
-Eat Up!

What to change, what to change?  Ben said it was the worst Lasagna I have ever made.  He said that it was not cheesy enough, the meat was bland, and come to think of it the whole thing was bland.
So I immediately retrieved the left over Lasagna from the refrigerator, cut myself a small piece, micro waved it, and then tasted it.  And tasted it, and tasted it.  He was absolutely correct! Flavor = Zero = My Lasagna.  It was sort of pretty though, I mean, I think that it at least looked good enough good to eat.
Let’s see, Italian Sausage instead of Burger, add a pound of creamy fresh mozzarella, a little tomato paste, fresh herbs instead of dry, what else?  What are the hallmarks of amazing lasagna?  I guess I have some research to do.