World's Best Lasagna

It takes a little work, but it is worth.

World's Best Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• 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
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, 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.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with eggs, the remaining parsley and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce in the bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Set the 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with one-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 the 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 oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving

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