World's Best Lasagna

I had MLK Jr. day off, so I knew I wanted to make something special and more time-consuming than usual. I settled on making the "World's Best Lasagna," which had great reviews on allrecipes.com and looked awesome. I usually make a veggie lasagna, but for a special-occasion I'm okay with eating lots of meat. :)

World's Best Lasagna (I am renaming it "Best Damn Lasagna" - which is how I described it to a coworker) :-)

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

3/4 pound lean ground beef

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 (I used agave nectar)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I made my own with basil, oregano, marjoram and sage)

1 tablespoon salt (I omitted this)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

12 lasagna noodles

16 ounces ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted this)

3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• In a Dutch oven (I used my beloved Le Creuset pot), 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 every 30 minutes.

• 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.

• Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one fourth of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a fourth of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 3/4 cup meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/8 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.
This lasagna was incredible, and it is a definite possibility for future special occasions. We enjoyed the bottle of La Ronde that I bought in Bainbridge with this meal, and it was a great pairing.