Meaty and Crispy Lasagna

Welcome to my version of a meaty lasagna. There are a couple of ways to bake them depending on your taste, so look for that below! As usual, pictures below.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large minced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• olive oil
• 1lb of ground sweet Italian sausage
• 1lb of ground beef (I use extra lean)
• 1 28oz can crushed tomato (for extra flavor, get the seasoned tomato, like Italian or garlic seasoned)
• 2 6oz can of tomato paste
• 2 6.5oz can of canned tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 2 teaspoon of dried basil
• 2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoon of oregano
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 5 tablespoons of parsley (fresh or dried)
• 15-18 lasagna noodles
• 24 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup of mozzarella, shredded
• 3/4 cup of parmesan, shredded

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven (or a big pot), saute onion and garlic until translucent over medium heat in olive oil.
2. Add sausage and ground beef until well browned.
3. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.
4. Add sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. With 30 minutes left on the sauce, I bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking of the noodles). While the noodles are cooking, in a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg and remaining parsley.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 5-6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one-third of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, now this is where the options come in:
   1. If you want your lasagna to have crispy noodles do the following:
      1. Don’t put the last layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese just yet.
      2. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
      3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
      4. Set to broil for 3-5 minutes (watch it).
      5. Take the lasagna out, add the last layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese then stick it back in the oven for another 10 minutes (check to see if the cheese is melted).
      6. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
   2. If you don’t want your lasagna to have crispy noodles do the following:
      1. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
      2. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
      3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.