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World's Best Homemade Lasagna

Looking for something delicious to make over the weekend?  

This sort of dish is perfect to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon, with some Italian music gently playing in the background.  It's worth the extra work...I promise!

In searching for Lasagna recipes online, I came across this gem, and with a name like "World's Best Lasagna" I knew it better deliver.  And it does!

This recipe has TWO kinds of meat in the sauce.  Sweet Italian sausage and ground turkey (or beef) are both added, and the sauce simmers for a good 1.5 hours to really make the flavors sing.  I chose turkey, just so it would be a little leaner and healthier.

Pull the kiddos in to help assemble the lasagna.  They will love helping with the pasta layers!

Enjoy!


World's Best Homemade Lasagna
Adapted from: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
¾ pound ground turkey OR beef
½ 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
½ cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp dried basil leaves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 ½ tsp salt, divided, or to taste
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
¾ pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground turkey OR 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 teaspoon 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.

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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