Short Rib Lasagna

I've mentioned before that Thatboy likes his lasagna with a little meat in it.  And I tend to get bored with throwing in ground beef or sausage.  This lasagna is a little time consuming, because you actually have to make short ribs first, but it's totally worth it if you have some time to kill on a weekend.

Short Rib Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs boneless beef short ribs

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 cup red wine

1 can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk 

1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese

 1/2 cups mozzarella, shredded

lasagna noodles

1.  Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the short ribs and brown on all sides.  Remove from pot.
2. Reduce heat to medium and saute onions and carrots until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add 2 cloves of the garlic and cook just until fragrant.
4. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
5. Add the wine and bay leaf. Simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
7. Add the short ribs to the pot.  Cover and reduce het.  Simmer for 2 1/2 hours, turning ribs.
8. Remove the ribs, but keep the sauce (discarding the bay leaf).  Skim the fat off the top of the sauce.
9. When ribs cool, shred the meat.
10. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
11. Stir in the flour and cook until thick and bubbly, about 2 minutes.
12. Whisk in the milk.
13. Add the remaining garlic and reduce heat to a simmer, cooking while stirring for an additional 10 minutes.  Mix this sauce into the tomato sauce.
14. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking dish.  Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish.
15. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, then put another 3/4 cup of the sauce over the noodles.
16. Add 1/2 cup of meat over the sauce, then 1/4 cup of parmesean.
17. Repeat with noodles, sauce, meat, and parmesan 2 more times.  You will have 3 layers of meat and 4 layers of noodles by the end.
18. Spread the remaining sauce over all and then sprinkle with remaining parmesean and the mozzarella.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
19. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.

Speaking of having some time to kill on a weekend, this past weekend we headed out to Temecula for a little R&R - wine tasting!  We packed up some fruit and cheese (and Pirate's Booty and grape juice for our youngest family member) and headed out to enjoy the day.

Thatbaby was perfectly happy to sit and enjoy his juice and booty while we ran through the whites, but when we got the reds he got a little antsy, wanting to run around and explore.  Luckily the grounds are very conducive to exploring.

We packed up our food and moved our tasting down to the fountains, bridge, and waterfall.  A large grassy (and deserted) area where Thatbaby could run around, toss the football, and spin to his heart's content.

Sometimes it's nice to get away as a family.  Even if you're not going all that far.