Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound of sweet Italian sausage

1 pound of ground beef

1/2 cup of chopped onions

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

–Serves 12 people–

In a large 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 Dutch oven about 6 to 9 minutes.

Gently stir this into the cooking meat:

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 these seasoning into the sauce:

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 (5 mL) Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground pepper

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.

I will sometimes make this sauce and refrigerate it after it finishes simmering. I will use the meat sauce the next day to put the rest of this recipe together. For some reason Italian meat sauce taste even better the next day. But that’s up to you.

Soak 12 lasagna noodles in hot tap water for 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, add:

23 ounces (644 g) of ricotta cheese.

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) fresh grated nutmeg

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 9×13 inch baking pan.

Spread 2 Cups (480 mL) of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.