My Own Creation of a Meat, Pasta & Potato Lasagna. This recipe is so easy and wow does it come out so yummy. For some reason, the guys really go crazy for it, lol...

1&1/2 lbs of Ground Beef

2 Cans of Tomato Paste (Do not substitute for something else)

½ Stick of Butter

¾ Tsp. Allspice (Important Ingredient)

Salt & Pepper

3 Cups of Cheese

I use the Mexican blend of cheese which already comes pre packaged and shredded because it has a blend of Cheddar Cheese, Monterey Jack and Blanco Cheese (White) which is all mixed together. It comes out sensational with this combination, but I have also used Cheddar Cheese and Mozzarella if that was what I happened to have in the house already. You can also sprinkle some regular Romano grated cheese between the layers along with the cheeses already mentioned, and wow that comes out really good too, but it isn’t necessary.

8 or 9 Medium Potatoes, partially boiled, drained, then sliced

1 16 oz box of Ziti Pasta (or something similar)

Approximately 3 Cups of Water

First cook the pasta, drain it and set it aside.

Peel the potatoes and then partially boil them, but don’t cook them all the way. You don’t want them too soft. Drain them and set them aside along with the pasta. You do not need to slice them until you start to layer the recipe.

In a large skillet brown the ground beef and then drain all of the grease or fat out. Then add the butter and let it melt into the mixture, then add the two cans of tomato paste, salt & pepper and the allspice. Once you have added the tomato paste and mixed it in fairly well with the ground beef and all of the other ingredients mentioned, add about three cups of water to the skillet. It doesn’t matter if it’s watery, that’s the way it’s supposed to be and it will turn out wonderful anyway. You might have to judge the amount of water, like if a little bit more is necessary. You need enough mixture to cover each layer. You don’t have to cook this long because it’s going into the oven. Only long enough till it’s all mostly mixed or blended together.

Use a large baking pan. I happen to have some of my father’s old large stainless steel restaurant pans as shown in the photos below, but any large size baking pan will do, even a glass one. Start off with spreading thinly some of the meat mixture in the bottom of the pan with a soup ladle, just enough mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. From there, just simply start layering the pasta and the sliced potatoes, and then spoon some of the meat mixture over top of the layer of pasta and potatoes enough to cover it fairly well, then just sprinkle some of the cheese on top of each layer that you make. It will make approximately two layers if you are using a pan the size shown in my photo. After you have used all of the pasta and the potatoes in layers, and have placed the remaining meat mixture over the top, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top leaving yourself enough cheese so that it is completely covered. Preheat oven to approximately 350 degrees. Cover with aluminum foil making sure that the aluminum foil does not touch the top of your product, so that it won’t stick to it, and then bake for approximately 40 minutes covered, then take off the foil and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes.

Note: If you are using a smaller pan and have a lot of the ingredients left over, you can put it all together in another smaller pan and freeze the second pan without cooking it first, then defrost and bake and have it at another time. It comes out fresh and delicious that way too.

If any of you venture to make this, I would really love some feedback. Enjoy!!