Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound Sweet Italian Sausage
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1/2 cup Chopped Onion
• 2 clove Chopped Garlic
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes 28 ounce
• 2 cans Tomato Sauce 8 ounce
• 2 cans Tomato Paste 6 ounce
• 1/2 cup Water
• 2 tablespoons White Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Fennel Seed toasted
• 2 teaspoons Fresh Chopped Basil
• 4 tablespoons Fresh Chopped Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1 package Ricotta Cheese 23 ounces
• 1 Egg
• 1 pound Shredded Mozzerella
• 1 cup Grated Parmesean
• 12 Lasagna Noodles

Directions

The Sauce:

Combine the sweet Italian sausage, ground beef, chopped onions and chopped garlic into the dutch oven. Brown the ingredients for 6-9 minutes and drain the grease when you finish. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and a 1/2  cup of water and gently stir over medium heat to make the sauce. When the sauce begins to simmer, add the white sugar, fennel seed, basil, parsley, salt, Italian Seasoning and ground pepper, gently stirring to incorporate into the sauce.

Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer for an hour and a half.

While the sauce is simmering, add the lasagna noodles to a hot water bath to soak for 15 minutes (or follow package instructions).

The Cheese Filling:

Combine the ricotta cheese, egg and parsley and mix together in a large mixing bowl.

Building the Lasagna:

Spread 2 Cups of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan. Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath and blot dry. Begin assembly by placing 6 noodle across the bottom of the pan, covering the sauce. Spread half of the cheese filling over the first layer of noodles and top with 1/2 of both the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Continue by adding another cup of sauce over the cheese layer. Top with the next layer of noodles. Spread the remaining cheese filling over noodles and, again, top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese (reserve a cup of this mixture to top the lasagna). Cover the last layer of cheese with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the lasagna.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before plating.