The Best Lasagna

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I thought long and hard on trying to decide what was worthy enough of being posted first and I finally decided on this one. This is the best traditional lasagna that I have ever had or made. It also freezes wonderfully and can sit in the fridge for a day before baking. Enjoy!



1.5 pounds of lean hamburger
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce)can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce)cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 TBS white sugar
2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 TBS chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

In Dutch oven, cook hamburger, onions and garlic over medium heat until browned. Stir in all tomatoes and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, pepper and 2 TBS parsley. Simmer, covered for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt water then add noodles. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg and remaining parlsey. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To assemlbe, spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of the mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1.5 cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layers, and top with remaining cheeses. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, spray foil with non-stick spray. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool 15 minutes before serving.