lasagna

Every time I see the word "lasagna", I remember one time at the grocery I noticed a list in the bottom of my cart that had been left behind by a previous shopper.

Scrawled in big loopy letters at the top of the list was " lazonia noodles".  Now, isn't that the way it should be spelled?  Just like it sounds. I am sure it would taste just as good!

Anyway, I have made lasagna a couple of times recently. The first time I split it into two dishes...sending the larger one with Lonnie to his evening bible class.
In the dish I saved back, there was enough for about one big serving each . It made us wish for more...so a few weeks later I made it again.  This time I had enough to put a few servings in the freezer.

Lasagna
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 lb. ground beef
2  25 oz. jars good pasta sauce
Extra garlic,basil,oregano if desired
1 pint ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tblsp. parsley
dash nutmeg
1 lb. Mozzarella, shredded
Parmesan or Romano cheese
12 cooked lasagna noodles

Brown sausage and ground beef together in a large pan. Drain grease and finely crumble the meat. Add pasta sauce and gently simmer for up to 2 hours, adding extra spices to taste, if desired.

Get noodles ready while meat mixture is simmering.
I read about this method of softening the lasagna noodles by soaking them in hot water rather than boiling them. It works really well for me. I lay the noodles in my baking dish and pour very hot water over them. When they have softened I lay them on paper towels to absorb excess water. The noodles are easier to handle and don't make the lasagna all watery.

In a bowl, mix ricotta,beaten eggs, parsley and nutmeg, Stir until well blended.

Spray a 10 x 13 pan with non-stick spray. 

Layer 4 noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the mozzarella, a dusting of Parmesan and a third of the meat sauce.

Repeat these layers.

Top with the last 4 noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, covered for 45 minutes, then uncover  and bake 15 minutes more.

It would be nice to have one of those deep lasagna pans but I've been getting by with using a big glass casserole dish all these years. It works okay and holds a big enough batch.

In that top photo you can see that I was using some precooked pizza crumble sausage that I had on hand (a lot). This was good but it's really better to start with fresh raw Italian sausage.