Lasagna With Three Cheeses And Italian Sausage

Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrot
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 8 ounces lean ground beef
• 6 ounces hot italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes in puree
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper
• 15 lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces)
• 2 (15 ounce) containers part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, squeezed dry
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 lbs grated mozzarella cheese

Recipe

• 1 prepare the sauce:
• 2 heat the olive oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. add onion, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes.
• 3 add beef and sausages to pan; saute until cooked through, breaking up meat with a spoon, about 5 minutes.
• 4 add the remaining ingredients. cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 5 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. discard bay leaf. let cool.
• 5 prepare the lasagna:
• 6 preheat oven to 350â° f. cook the pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. drain; cover with cold water.
• 7 combine ricotta and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. mix in spinach. season to taste with salt and pepper. mix in eggs.
• 8 drain pasta and pat dry.
• 9 spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
• 10 place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit.
• 11 spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over noodles.
• 12 sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture.
• 13 spoon 1 and 1/2 cups sauce over cheese, spreading with spatula to cover (sauce will be thick).
• 14 repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1 and 1/2 cups sauce.
• 15 arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. spread remaining sauce over noodles. sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna.
• 16 (can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
• 17 cover baking dish with aluminum foil. bake lasagna for 40 minutes; uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving. serves 8.
• 18 that's it!