Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
• pound sweet Italian sausage
• ¾ pound lean ground beef
• ½ cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1½ teaspoons dried basil leaves
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16-ounce ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ pound Mozzarella cheese, sliced
• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Step by Step Instructions
Step 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, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer covered for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Step 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 ½ teaspoon salt.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 4
To assemble, spread 1½ cups of meat sauce in bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one-half of ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of Mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 ½ cups meat sauce over Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover with foil. To prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray or make
sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Step 5
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.