Lip Smacking Lasagna

My dad always gave a few words of gratitude for the meal we were about to receive each night; he would thank my mom who prepared the food for us, and he always expressed gratitude for their jobs that paid for it, and sometimes he added a little practical advice for the family to think about. One of the best lessons I learned from my family is that family meals make kids smarter (voila...I know "French"...not Italian!); spending quality time together over dinner can also contribute to children's emotional and spiritual growth. After all, it's when you're all together sharing the details of your day that real bonding happens. And kids who feel close to their families are more likely to take the family's value system to heart. So today I prepare for you another of our favorite lasagna recipes. The aroma from the kitchen full of Italian spices and slowly simmered sauce will tease your appetite all day long so that by dinnertime your whole family will be famished.

Lip Smacking Lasagna
La Dolce Vita LeAnn

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 pound lean ground been
½ cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce can) crushed tomatoes
12 oz can tomato paste
26 oz bottle Ragu with mushroom
2 T white sugar
1 t dried basil
1 t Italian season
½ t fennel seeds
½ t ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley

Ricotta Cheese Layer

32 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
½ t salt

Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese

Lasagna Noodles

DIRECTIONS:

Meat Sauce:

In a pot large enough to hold your meat sauce, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and Ragu sauce. Season with sugar, basil fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, ground pepper and about 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley. Simmer, covered, for about and hour….stir often!

Ricotta:

Combine ricotta cheese with eggs and 2 tablespoons parsley

Lasagna Noodles:

I put my noodles in 2 large roasting pans filled with very hot water and let them soak for about 30 – 45 minutes. They remain flat and are not all broken apart like when I boil them. They were very easy to work with.


Assemble:

I divided this between 2 baking dishes (9 ½ x 8 x 3 inch)…..fit perfectly.
Spread generous layer of meat sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce (trim to fit pan). Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese. Spoon meat sauce over Mozzarella, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers and topping off with Mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with foil. To prevent sticking I spray the foil with cooking spray.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. I bake mine on a baking sheet just to catch any drips.

Now I have 2 meals ready to go....one fresh today, another for the freezer ready for a hurried day!

**Don’t even ask about the calories!