Cooking 101: Lasagna

We've brought back our all-time favorite because it's not only deliciously cheesy, but sublimely simple.

Recipe Rating: 4.5

what you need

1 lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, beaten
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

make it

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat.

2. MEANWHILE, mix 1 1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.

3. DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended. Adding water to the sauce helps cook traditional noodles during baking, so you don't have to cook them beforehand. This saves you 15 to 20 min. of prep time.

4. SPREAD 1 cup of the meat sauce onto the bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with a layer of 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Noodles will expand to fit the dish during baking.

5. SPREAD 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce over noodles. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce.

6. SPRINKLE with remaining 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil. Bake 45 min. Remove foil; continue baking 15 min. or until heated through. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve. Makes 12 servings, 1 piece each.