Homemade Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 can crushed tomatoes 28 ounces
- 2 cans tomato sauce 6.5 ounces each
- 2 cans tomato poaste 6 ounces each
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley divided
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
- 1 1/2 tsp salt divided
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 oz ricotta cheese or you may use cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 3/4 lb mozzarella cheese sliced
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Cook ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat in a Dutch oven until well browned. Drain grease.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Season with sugar, 2 tbsp parsley, basil, 1 tsp salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occassionally.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup; Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat layers, and top with mozzarella and Parmesean cheese. Cover with foil and make sure the foil doesn't touch the cheese. Or, you can spray foil with cooking spray in advance.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake fo ran additional 25 minutes.
- Rest lasanga for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Freezing Instructions:
Assemble and bake lasagna as instructed. Allow to cool completely. Cover really well with a layer of plastic wrap and then a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, you can thaw in the fridge for 24 hours, or bake from frozen for 1 ½ hours (covered with aluminum foil, but remove the plastic wrap). Then uncover and bake for another 45 minutes or so, or until the lasagna is hot and bubbly.