Our Very Favorite Lasagna
I never cared for meat in my lasagna and made quite a fine one without it. however, at the prodding of my family, i decided to try a meat version and it certainly was a big hit. initially, since i didn't care for sausage, i only used 1/2 pound, but you can mix up the measurements of ground beef and sausage to your personal preference, as long as it totals 1-1/2 pounds. being italian, i insist you use ricotta cheese (i personally had never heard of cottage cheese in a lasagna until this site). Finally, i use the no-cook lasagna noodles, but feel free to use whatever you like. enjoy!!
Steps
Remove sausage meat from casings and brown with ground beef , onion and garlic in a large dutch oven or sauce pot.
Stir frequently until well browned - about 15 minutes.
Add basil , oregano , half the parsley , salt , and sugar.
Mix well.
Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste , adding water if mixture is too thick.
Bring to a boil , reduce heat and simmer , covered and stirring occasionally , for 1 to 1-1 / 2 hours.
Meanwhile , in a medium bowl , combine ricotta , egg , remaining parsley , salt , half the mozzarella and half the parmesan.
When sauce is ready , preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon about 1-1 / 2 cups sauce in bottom of pan , then layer with about 4 lasagna noodles , half the cheese mixture and about 1-1 / 2 cups sauce.
Repeat layer again , then top off with a layer of lasagna noodles.
Spread with remaining sauce.
Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove foil .
Ingredients
ground beef, sweet italian sausage, onion, garlic cloves, dried basil leaves, dried oregano, parsley, salt, sugar, san marzano tomatoes, tomato paste, water, part-skim ricotta cheese, egg, part-skim mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, lasagna noodles