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homemade lasagna cheese meat basil
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Classic Homemade Lasagna

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 Servings

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Cheese Filling

  • 16 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg

Layers

  • 15 lasagna noodles - Do Not use no boil noodles
  • 1 pound mozzarella cheese grated
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • 1. Place lasagna noodles in a long pan. Pour hot tap water over noodles until they are fully submerged. Let them soak approx. 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the lasagna. 
    2. In a large pot cook sausage, ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until the meat is browned. Drain.
    3. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.
    4. Stir in basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
    5. Bring to a boil. Uncover and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
    6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
    7. In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese and egg.
    8. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Arrange 5 noodles covering all the meat sauce. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese followed by 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers (meat, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan) 2 more times. You will have a total of 3 layers. To finish, top with remaining meat sauce, remaining mozzarella and remaining Parmesan cheese. The pan will be very full.
    9. Cover with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Place baking dish on a baking sheet.
    10. Bake for 30 minutes.
    11. Remove foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes.
    12. Remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.