Texas Lasagna

Submitted By Melinda LeCheminant

½ c water

½ t garlic powder

12  lasagna noodles

1 t salt

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

¾ lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

¾ c grated parmesan cheese

1 lb Italian sausage in casing

½ lb ground beef

½ c finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T sugar

1 t salt

1 T dried basil leaves

½ t fennel seeds (I only put 2 little seeds in)

½ t pepper

¼ c chopped parsley

1 can (35 oz) Italian style tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste

Remove sausage from casing and chop. In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté sausage, beef, onion, and chopped garlic. Stir frequently and cook until well browned. Add sugar, salt, basil, fennel, pepper, and half of the parsley and mix well. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and ½ c water, mashing tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover; simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add garlic powder and simmer 30 minutes longer. In an 8-qt kettle (I just use a regular 5-qt pan), bring 3 qts water and 1 tsp of salt to a boil. Add lasagna noodles 2-3 at a time. Return to boiling and boil uncovered until noodles are just tender. Drain and rinse in a colander under cold water. Dry noodles on paper towels. In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, remaining parsley, and salt. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Into a 9x13 baking dish, spoon 1 ½ cups of sauce. Place 6 noodles lengthwise and overlapping to cover sauce. Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles and top with 1/3 of mozzarella. Spoon another 1 ½ c of sauce over cheese and sprinkle with ¼ c parmesan. Spread any remaining cheeses on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and bake uncovered another 25 minutes or until bubbly. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Yield: 8 servings