HOMEMADE LASAGNA

BY JOSHUA SCHMIDT, 2022-2023 SNA-WI MARKETING AND MEMBERSHIP SERVICES CHAIR

Hi Everyone,

Hoping that this finds you in a good place mentally, physically, and spiritually. There are many things that people focus on this time of year. If you are one who looks forward to setting a focus, one word, or goals for your year please feel free to reach out and share those with people around you. Writing and sharing your dreams and commitments help internalize them within you. Personally, I hope to share more frequent date nights with my lovely wife, to read more and to pray more.

This time of year is one where menu planners and those of us who work with the Annual USDA order are thinking of recipes and menus for the upcoming school year. Here is one of our District

Homemade Lasagna

Number of Portions: 24 (4K-8th) or 18 (highschool)

Beef, fine ground, crumbles, panbrowned, 15% fat – 25lb. 8oz. Onions, dehydrated flakes – 1qt. Spaghetti sauce, multi-purpose, 6/#10 cans, red gold – 16#10 can

Preparation Instructions:

Cheese, cheddar, yellow, shredded –18lb

Cheese, Mozzarella, lite, shredded – 20lb Lasagna sheet, wg, rippled, 5oz, marzetti – 72 sheet, cooked

1. When using frozen-raw ground beef (If using pre-cooked beef or crumbles skip to step 3). Three days before serving- Pull out and thaw packages of meat, placing the packages on a pan. Make sure the pan is covered with wax paper prior to setting frozen package on the pan. Place pans of raw meat on the bottom shelf in the cooler.

2. After all the meat is scooped into full hotel pans, make sure the temperature has been recorded and then place the pans in the freezer/chiller. Be sure to temp the meat every 30 minutes to be sure of proper cooling procedure. Once the meat has reached 41 F or colder you may proceed to step 3.

3. Gather all ingredients. In deep hotel pans, per pan combine: 1 cup of dehydrated (or 2 cups raw onion), 5# of meat and 4 cans of spaghetti sauce. This will be the meat sauce layers once we begin to assemble the lasagna. Follow “Lasagna Layers” for assembling.

Lasagna Layers:

1. For each pan: First spray the bottom and halfway up the sides with Vegalene spray.

2. 1st layer- 4 cups (1 qt.) sauce

3. 2nd layer- uncooked noodles lengthwise

4. 3rd layer- 4 cups (1 qt.) sauce

5. 4th layer- 1 1/2 cup yellow shredded cheese; 2 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

6. 5th layer- uncooked noodles (crosswise)

7. 6th layer- 4 cups (1 qt.) sauce

8. 7th layer- 1 1/2 cup yellow shredded cheese; 2 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese favorites. Homemade Lasagna has been around for many years and we have made a few tweaks here and there throughout the years. Enjoy the recipe and please do not hesitate to email and/ or call with any questions.

Here are a few brief details and the recipe is below:

4K-8th, cut each pan into 24 servings. For HS: cut each pan into 18 servings. We offer a garlic breadstick along with this entree as well. We prepare all of our lasagna pans the day before serving. Typically, we prep on Thursday afternoon and serve on Friday.

4. After all pans are assembled, cover tightly with a parchment paper and foil. With a permanent marker label the pan for what grade group it is planned for. Remember that K-8 have 24 servings per pan and 9-12 have 18 servings per pan. Place in the cooler on a cart for next day service.

Day of Service:

1. Bake in convection oven at 325° F for 45 minutes. CCP: Cook to internal temperature of 165° F for 15 seconds.

2. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes, covers off, then cut into 4x5 for 24 pieces.

3. Remove product from oven. Caution! Finished product is hot. Use oven mitts when handling product to avoid injury. CCP: Place product in warming cabinet until served. Ensure that hot food is held at a temperature above 140° F.

4. CORRECTIVE ACTION HOT FOOD All cooked food items being held for service that drop below 140 degrees must be removed from service until such time as they are reheated to 165 degrees. Any food not eaten after reheating must be discarded. CCP: Maximum holding time is two (2) hours. Discard product after maximum holding time is reached. Do not reheat product. CCP: Record time and internal temperature of completed recipe on daily log.

5. Serving Tips: Use a metal spatula and a spreader to assist cutting the cheese. Make sure the pan of lasagna has a rubber oven mitt to prevent the pan from sliding around. For serving, place pieces of lasagna in a 1# paper boat.

JOSHUA SCHMIDT MARKETING AND MEMBERSHIP SERVICES CHAIR | SCHMIDTJ@SHELLLAKE.K12.WI.US