Homemade Traditional Lasagna

Lasagna always reminds me of one thing. My Aunt. When I was a kid, every Halloween we would go to my Aunt’s house and go trick or treating. During that time, she’d be making her delicious lasagna so after our night of trick-or-treating we would come back and have a delicious plate of lasagna. I don’t think I had anyone else’s until many years later, and hers is the basis that I compare any to.

Now, I know it’s well past Halloween, but this is definitely the season for cuddle weather and comfort food. What’s more comforting than a nice big pan of delicious lasagna? This is not my Aunt’s recipe, matter of fact I should ask her for hers sometime. But this is my own that I’ve developed through the years and I think it’s pretty good. Hopefully you do too, and it does my Aunt proud! (Auntie E., I’m talking to you!)

Ingredients:

• one pound Italian sausage
• one pound ground beef (I use ground turkey)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can of Italian style crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped (divided)
• 8-10 dry lasagna noodles
• 23 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Start by combining the meats, onion and garlic in a pan and browning them.

Once the meat is mostly browned add the mushrooms and spinach.

Continue to cook through until meat is browned and spinach is wilted, as shown here.

Once browned, add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste with the water.

Combine the sauce and stir thoroughly. Add in the sugar, salt, celery seed, marjoram, salt, pepper, chopped basil, and 1/4 cup of the chopped parsley. Stir to combine, and then simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours. Because this dish does take a bit of time, you can even make the meat sauce the night before. Simmer it for about an hour and 1/2 and then refrigerate it and finish making the lasagna the next day. The meat sauce just keeps getting better, as it refrigerates, so you will be happy with those results. If you are making it all in one day, simmer at least the recommended time. This allows the flavors and seasonings to all combine and meld together. If you refrigerate it, when you are ready to prepare it, put the sauce back in a pot and reheat at a medium heat until it’s warm throughout.

While the sauce is simmering (or warming up), get a large pan and put the dry lasagna noodles in. Pour warm water over the noodles, and let sit for 15-30 minutes. This is in place of boiling the noodles, and you will find it softens them perfectly without the risk of breaking them. every few minutes move them around just a bit so they don’t stick together.

While the sauce is simmering and the noodles are softening, you can prepare your cheese filling. Combine the ricotta cheese in a bowl with the egg and nutmeg and the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped parsley. Mix together well to form the filling.

Once everything is ready and prepared you can start building your lasagna. First lightly spray a lasagna pan so the sides won’t stick. Then place a few large spoonfuls of sauce at the bottom of the pan.

Lightly shake off 4-5 lasagna noodles and lay them out over the meat sauce. My pan is a little longer than the noodles, so I tore a few extra noodles into squares to place at the bottom right of the photo to make the noodles fit.

Now spread about half of the ricotta cheese filling over the noodles.

Spread 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the top of the filling, and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese over that.

Now spread about half of the remaining meat mixture over the top.

Now lay down your remaining 4-5 noodles.

Now spread out the remaining ricotta filling. Then 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 of the parmesan cheese.

Here you’ll spread out the remaining meat sauce mixture.

Now use the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover with foil (I spray the inside of the foil so it won’t stick to the cheeses) and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, and bake another 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, the sides will be bubbling.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. I use this time to make a salad and some garlic bread, like my Pull-Apart Garlic Cheesy Bread.

After it’s cooled for a bit, you can serve. I use a serrated knife to cut the lasagna if I’m serving it the same night. It won’t mess with the layers too much, but if you refrigerate it you’ll notice it firms up nicely and the layers look lovely. I had planned to do that with this lasagna, but it got eaten up too quickly and I never got the chance!

Serve and enjoy!