Rich & Hearty Lasagna

I previously posted my recipe for meatless lasagna, but I used a jarred sauce and cottage cheese. I recently tried making my first homemade cheese- Ricotta- and it turned out great, so I thought to celebrate I'd make a from-scratch, authentic lasagna. Oh, it was SO good! The sauce is similar to my mom's recipe, and it is so much better than the stuff in the jar.

Rich & Hearty Lasagna

For the sauce:

1 lb. ground Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper

Brown sausage and onions until meat is no longer pink, drain excess fat if necessary. Add in garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add tomato sauce, paste, and diced tomatoes. Stir in spices, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add about a tomato-can full of water. Simmer over low heat for several hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if it becomes too thick. My mom would simmer this all day, and it makes the house smell heavenly!

For the lasagna:

12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente and drained (I use whole-wheat)

3 c. ricotta cheese

1/2 c. parmesan

2 tb. parsley

2 eggs

2 c. mozzarella cheese

1 recipe meat sauce

Mix ricotta, parmesan, parsley and eggs in a bowl. In 9 x 13 pan spread about a cup of the meat sauce. Lay 4 lasagna noodles on sauce, spread 1/2 of ricotta mixture on noodles. Pour on 1/3 of remaining sauce. Layer 4 more noodles, other 1/2 of ricotta, and another 1/3 of sauce. Layer last 4 noodles and remaining sauce in pan, then sprinkle with mozzarella and more parmesan if desired. Cover with greased foil, bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15-20 minutes before cutting. Serve with some crusty French bread and enjoy!