Lasagna

Yesterday was the first day of college football - whoo hoo! I love watching the games...but not nearly as much as the boy. I can sit still for at least one game...*sometimes* two, depending on who is playing. He could sit there for an entire day and watch?! With yesterday being the first week, that's what he did. When the kids were napping, I was already getting antsy, so I decided to make lasagna. This recipe takes awhile and has lots of steps, but is worth it. The cold leftovers for breakfast are pretty darn delicious, too!

Lasagna
Ingredients
1 pound ground sausage
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (15 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
18 lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Fill a pan with hot water and soak lasagna noodles while sauce is cooking (sounds strange, but it works AND saves you from cleaning another pan). 
3. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. To assemble, layer 6 noodles along bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce on top. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella. 
6. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 40 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.