Saturday, October 4, 2008

Best Ever Lasagna

This is perfection! Truly the best ever lasagna recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
6 ounces lean ground beef
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (6.5 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles
1/2 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 6 servings.
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.
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.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

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.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. 6 servings.



Submitted by Michelle Olsen, who uses tomatoes freshly picked from her garden for the tomato sauce.

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