Very Best Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (8 oz) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place the lasagna noodles in a suitable sized pot of water. Just let them soak until needed while preparing the rest of the recipe.

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, pepper and 2 tbsp parsley. Simmer, covered for about 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil. (To prevent sticking either spray under side of foil with cooking spray or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese).

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 Servings