My boyfriend, Jesse Baker, decided he wanted to make me dinner one night. And he specifically asked that it appear on my blog. How could I turn him down? He is technically the chef in our house. His mom once owned an italian restaurant, and he was a short-order cook at Ed's Cafe in Platteville, WI. Much more cooking experience than I have ever had. He's awesome.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 mins
Yield: 12 Servings
Level: Medium
Ingredients:
1 lb Italian Sausage (you can use sweet, sage, plain, or spicy)
3/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
2 cans (6oz each) tomato paste
2 cans (6.5oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
- In a saucepan, or a dutch oven, cook italian 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, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 tbsp salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
Jesse likes to add a bit of "Wundomus" to everything. It is a mixture of seasonings from Wisconsin that adds the most amazing taste to every bite of food. If by chance you stumble across some at your local piggly-wiggly, pick it up and use it liberally... on everything!
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna in boiling water for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.
- In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F)
- Spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture.
- Top with a third of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1.5 cups of meat sauce over the mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil, and to prevent foil from sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray or make sure the foil doesn't touch the cheese
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Love this recipe!
