1lb sweet Italian sausage1lb 80/20 ground beef½ cup onions, chopped,3 large garlic cloves minced1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes1 12 oz can tomato paste1 15 oz can tomato sauce1 cup heavy red wine1 ½ teaspoonsdried basil½ tsp fennel seeds1 tsp Italian seasoning1 tbls salt¼ tsp fresh ground blackpepper4 tbls chopped fresh parsley divided 2 and 212 dry lasagna noodles16 oz ricotta cheese16 oz cottage cheese1 large egg½ tsp salt½ lb mozzarella cheese slices (12)½ lb shredded mozzarella
Place sausage, beef, onion and garlic in heavy stock pot and brown meat over medium heat. Add crushed tomatoes sauce and paste and red wine. Stir in seasonings (basil-pepper) plus2 tablespoons parsley and simmer for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally so it does not stick to bottom of pan.In a large mixing bowl combine ricotta and cottage cheeses, egg, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbls parsley.Cook lasagna noodles as instructed on package and drain.Let’s put it together:Grab a 9×13 baking dish and cover the bottom with 1 ½ cups meat sauce. Top with 6 lasagna noodles lengthwise (noodles will overlap by 2/3s). Cover with half of the ricotta/cottage cheese mixture and place 6 mozzarella slices on top. Add another 1 ½ cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle ¼ cup of parmesan evenly over the sauce. Do a second layer of noodles, the rest of the ricotta/cottage cheese and six more slices of mozzarella. Do a third layer of meat sauce (1 ½ cups) and ¼ cup parmesan. Top with shredded mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Spray tin foil with cooking spray and cover lasagna, spray side down to keep cheese from sticking. Bake at 375 for thirty minutes. Remove foil and bake for addition 20-30 minutes until cheese begins to brown. Take out of oven rest for 20 minutes. Dig in!–TF