Lasagna

A few weeks ago Dave had the great idea to have a family style Italian dinner with me, him and the neighbors. I made lasagna, Erin made some kind of amazingly delicious Orzo salad dish (which I still need to get the recipe for) and Erica did a wonderful job of cutting up cucumbers and opening the veggie dip. The recipe I used was called "World's Greatest Lasagna".  I'm not sure it was the world's best, but it was pretty good. The best lasagna recipe I've tried so far. I made some modifications to the original recipe for next time though. I thought it could use more ricotta so I doubled it from 16 oz to 32 oz. So, if you prefer a slightly healthier version, stick with the 16oz of ricotta and one egg mixture. Definitely worth trying and like most everything I make, it's even better reheated. I think Dave and his room mate lived on the leftovers for a week. Next Sunday dinner is Mexican. My favorite. Can't wait!

Thanks to Dave for taking the pictures!

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet 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 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

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 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 eggs, 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 9x13 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 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. 

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com