The original recipe is found on food.com. The joke was that Dad just googled "World's best lasagna" and went with it. Then for other recipes, he would try adding "world's best" but they did not hold up to the title. This is one tried and true recipe that we all love. It does take a LONG time for a busy family so we often make quick lasagna instead. This recipe was saved for special events such as holidays or children coming back home.
Prep + cook time 2hrs 30min
Serves 12
INGREDIENTS:
- 1lb sweet Italian sausage
- 3⁄4lb lean ground beef
- 1⁄2cup minced onion
- 2garlic cloves, crushed
- 1(28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2(6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2(6 1/2 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- 1⁄2cup water
- 2tablespoons white sugar
- 1 1⁄2teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1⁄2teaspoon fennel seed
- 1teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1tablespoon salt
- 1⁄4teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12lasagna noodles
- 16ounces ricotta cheese
- 1egg
- 1⁄2teaspoon salt
- 3⁄4lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 3⁄4cup grated parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- 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 water.
- Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley.
- Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- 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 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-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.
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