Wine Lover’s Cooking Diary

Italian food is my absolute favorite.  I could eat it every single day.  I probably wouldn’t be a size 4 if I did that though huh?  There are definitely times when I splurge on something that sounds amazing and I don’t care how many calories are in it.  I have seen this recipe on allrecipes.com for “World’s Best Lasagna” for awhile now but I never got around to making it.  I always just kind of throw a bunch of stuff together normally when I make lasagna and it is always good but I wanted to try something new.  Last weekend we decorated the Christmas tree and I wanted something yummy and comfort food like for the cold evening so I decided to make this finally. 

Ingredients (Don’t be scared off by the long list…)

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese (I omitted)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven (I used my crock pot as I don’t have a dutch oven…hoping for one for Christmas!!), 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.
2. 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.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 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.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Pig Rating:  The Pig liked this but he said it was almost too sweet for him.  He said he likes the other lasagna that I make better.  He ate leftovers many times though so it must not have been TOO bad… 

Mrs. Pig Rating:  I thought this was excellent!  I loved the sauce – it absolutely made the dish.  This is something that I will definitely make again – would be especially good for a carry in dinner!

Little Pig’s Rating:  Sheridan loved this!  She kept saying how good it was and she had seconds.  YAY for her finally starting to try new things!!!  Will liked it as well.  His favorite thing of mine is baked ziti though so he still likes that better.