Monday's Meal

My dh is a huge fan of Italian cooking, or at least what we like to think of as Italian. I personally love any type of casserole so this recipe satisfies us both.

Home made lasagna

1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1 lb of ground turkey (or if you can find it, meatloaf/meatball mix)
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
1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 box of lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups of shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground turkey, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil,Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour stirring occasionally.
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Now to assemble, I do not precook my lasagna noodles, but if you like to you can do so according to the directions on the package. Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 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 tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour, remove foil and back for 15 more minutes. Lasagna is done when cheese on top is melted and bubbling. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with a nice green salad, great bread and a good red wine. Enjoy!