Ingredients

Ingredients:

· 1 large box of Creamette lasagna noodles (12 in a box) not the short “ready bake” kind

· 1 pkg of Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (ground)

· 1/4 lb. of ground beef

· 15 oz. container of lowfat ricotta cheese

· 1 egg

· 1 tablespoon parsley flakes

· 2 or 3 tablespoons blended flakes of Italian seasonings to taste

· 1 small-to-medium size onion

· 2 tablespoons of diced garlic cloves

· 1 tablespoon of sugar

· 1 can of diced tomatoes (28 oz.)

· 2 cans of tomato paste (6 oz.)

· 1 shaker container of parmesan cheese

· 6+ cups of mozzarella cheese

Optional additions to the sauce:

· Sliced mushrooms

· Roasted red peppers

· Chopped fresh spinach

· Baked zucchini

· Baked eggplant

· Black beans or tofu (in place of meat for vegetarian)

· Hot pepper spice (I recommend the locally grown “Out of Our Goard” finely ground hot pepper shaker available at the Farmer’s Market or by phone order at 608-849-8842)

Preparation

Instructions:

Sauce: Brown Italian sausage and ground beef with diced onion and garlic in a frying pan on medium heat. Drain oil from pan and transfer meat mixture to large pot where you will create the sauce. Use medium-low heat and add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and Italian seasonings. Let this simmer for about an hour and stir regularly. You should end up with a pretty thick, chunkier sauce.

Ricotta mixture: Whip one egg, parsley flakes, and ricotta cheese in a bowl and then keep in refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Noodles: follow the directions on the back of the box. Right before you are ready to assemble the lasagna, pull the noodles out of the water one-by-one and lay them flat on a large white towel to soak up some of the water. You only need 9 noodles for this recipe.

Assembling the layers:

  1. Spray the pan very lightly with a cooking spray
  2. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 12 clear baking pan
  3. Place 3 noodles flat and side-by-side
  4. Spread a thicker layer of sauce on the noodles
  5. Dab 1/3 ricotta mixture randomly over the sauce (this will melt & spread out)
  6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on this layer
  7. Shake a heavy layer of parmesan cheese on this layer
  8. Place 3 noodles flat and side-by-side
  9. Spread a thicker layer of sauce (this is the middle, where you should put the most of everything)
  10. Dab remaining ricotta mixture randomly over the sauce
  11. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese
  12. Shake a heavy layer of parmesan cheese
  13. Place 3 noodles flat and side-by-side (top layer)
  14. Spread the remaining sauce on top to cover the noodles
  15. Shake a heavy layer of parmesan cheese on top
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the center is hot. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.