Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 pound of sweet italian sausage
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup chopped conions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 Cup of Water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
23 ounces of ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 egg
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 lasagna noodles

Start with the following in a pot:
1 pound (450 g) of sweet Italian sausage
1 pound (450 g) of ground beef
1/2 cup (120 mL) of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped

Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to cook. It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat. I like to use a Dutch oven to cook this portion of the recipe. I use a medium low temperature to brown the meat. It is optional to remove the grease from the meat once it is finished browning, your choice.

1 (28 ounce) (784 g) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) (230 g) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) (168 g) cans of tomato paste
1/2 (120 mL) cup of water

Gently stir this into the cooking meat.

One major key to this recipe is the fresh ingredients. Fresh basil and parsley smell amazing and make a big difference in taste!

2 tablespoons (30 mL) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) fennel seed
2 teaspoons (10 mL) fresh Basil leaves chopped
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5mL) Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground pepper

Gently stir these seasonings into the sauce.

Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes. This is the ideal simmer time but not mandatory. If you don't have time it will still be great after one hour of simmering.

Soak 12 lasagna noodles.

The lasagna noodles need to be soaked in hot tap water for 15 minutes.

While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling.

Put the following in a mixing bowl:

23 ounces (644 g) of ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) fresh grated nutmeg

Grate fresh nutmeg over the Ricotta cheese.

Add the following:1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped

Mix these ingredients together with a spoon.

Now we start building the lasagna layers.
Use a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Spread 2 Cups (480 mL) of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath. Shake water off wet noodles.

Lay 6 noodles across the layer of sauce.

Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles.

Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.

Spread 2 cups (480 mL) of meat sauce over the cheese layer.

Lay down the next layer of noodles.

Spread the remaining ricotta mixture over noodles.

Spread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving some cheese for the top of the lasagna.

Put the last layer of meat sauce on the cheeses.

I found that a rubber brush worked the best to spread the ricotta cheese mix

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Cover with foil.
Bake in preheated oven at 350F (177C) for 25 minutes.
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.