Lasagna

Double the recipe for the sauce and freeze any extra for other dishes.

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste), crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 to 2 T white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 T chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preparing the sauce:
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and wine. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours (or longer if desired), stirring occasionally.

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Preparing the noodles:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and salt.

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Assembling the lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of 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 remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. [To prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.]

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 12