La Di Frickin Lasagne

Not much to say about this one. I will have to post the bread sticks and the salad that goes well with this when I have more time. Uncooked lasagnas freeze very well so the extra work can be done well in advance. You can make several batches at a time and freeze the extras to thaw out and cook later.

1. 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
2. 1/2 lb. minced (ground) beef
3. 1/2 onion, chopped fine
4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
5. 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
6. 1 tablespoon salt
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
8. 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
9. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10. 1/4 cup chopped parsley (divided)
11. 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, un-drained, halved, seeds removed
12. 12 oz tomato paste
13. 1/2 cup water
14. 1/2 tablespoon salt
15. 2 cups ricotta cheese
16. 1 egg
17. 8 lasagna noodles
    
18. 16 oz. package of mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (a wire cutter is nice for semi-soft cheeses like this)
19. about 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Remove sausage casings, and break sausage into small bits.
2. Sauté sausage and ground beef in 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat with onion and garlic until the meat is browned.
3. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, basil, fennel, pepper, and half the parsley; mix well.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water, mashing the tomatoes a bit. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
6. Cook and drain pasta.
7. In a medium bowl mix ricotta, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining parsley.
8. Assemble your lasagna in a 13" x 9" x 2" roasting pan (listed bottom to top):

• bottom layer of sauce (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
• layer of pasta (overlapping slightly)
• layer of 1/2 the ricotta mixture
• layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella
• sauce layer (again, about 1 1/2 cups)
• layer of grated Parmesan sprinkled over sauce (not so much that the sauce layer is covered entirely)
• layer of pasta
• layer of remaining ricotta
• layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella
• layer of remaining sauce
• layer of sprinkled Parmesan
• layer of remaining mozzarella

1. Cover the lasagna with foil and roast 30 minutes covered, then 25 minutes uncovered (or until bubbly and lightly browned). Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.