Easy American Lasagna

Step 1

Add the ground beef and sausage to a heavy 5-quart pan. Break up the meat and sausage with a spatula and cook until done, about 6-8 minutes.  Drain off the fat.

Step 2

Add the jar of marinara sauce and tomato sauce. Add the minced garlic, 2-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, black pepper, and parsley.  Stir well to combine all the ingredients.  Let the sauce slow simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, taste the sauce for flavor.  Add salt if desired, but remember that the cheeses contain salt so I would be careful about adding a lot of salt at this time.

Step 3

While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta according to the package directions.   You can skip this step if using no-boil pasta or the refrigerated lasagna.

Step 4

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Divide the mixture into 3 equal parts; it doesn't have to be perfect but try to have 3 similar size portions.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 350F. In a 9x13 casserole dish, spread a very thin layer of meat sauce to the bottom of the dish.Layer 1: Place 3 lasagna noodles in the casserole dish. Spread a layer of ricotta cheese mixture on top of noodles.  Then add a layer of meat mixture (about 1 cup).

Step 6

Layer 2: Repeat with another layer of three noodles, a layer of ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 cup of meat sauce.

Step 7

Layer 3: Layer the remaining three lasagna noodles, a layer of ricotta cheese mixture, remaining meat sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Step 8

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick spray and cover the lasagna with the sprayed side down (this prevents the cheese from sticking to the foil).  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and browned.  Let lasagna rest for about 10 minutes.  Cut into 12 squares!