World Best Lasagna & Spaghetti Sauce

I decided to be BAD and make homemade lasagna this week. This is one of the few dishes that I do not try to make healthy. It is worth it to go off the healthy boat once in a while to have this dish. It is amazing and I get accolades every time I make it. I also make extra sauce during the process to freeze for for another night.I found a recipe a while back on All Recipes called World's Best Lasagna Recipe. It has 5 stars and over 6,000 positive reviews. It truly is the World's Best Lasagna. I did make a few minor changes in the steps and left out the fenal.

Here's a money saving tip: check your butcher to see if they sell individual sausages. If they don't ask if they will break up packages for you. My butcher also carries ground beef by the pound so I could request 3/4 lb of lean ground beef instead of purchasing 1.5lb that comes pre-packaged.

Ingredients and Instructions found at the bottom of this post

Layering

Finished Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (2 1/2 sausages)
3/4 pound lean ground beef
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 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves (I use fresh and wait until the last 5 minutes to add)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt + 1 1/2 teaspoons for Ricotta mixture
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles I use the no bake lasagna noodles and only need 6-8 of them
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced (purchase the 16oz pre-sliced mozzarella)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Sautee your onions with a little bit of EVOO until translucent (5+ minutes, stirring often) into a dutch oven or large sauce pan. Add garlic and sautee for 1 minute.
2. Remove casings from your Italian Sausage, add into the pan. Add the lean ground beef. Cook until browned (10 minutes).
3. Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper and stir well to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring often.
4. During the last 5 minutes, add your basil and 2 tablespoons of parsley and preheat your oven to 375
5. Combine your Ricotta, egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
6. Take 1 1/2 cups of your sauce and spread on the bottom of a sprayed 13x9 pan (I use olive oil spray)
7. Layer 3 no bake lasagna noodles
8. Spread 1/2 the Ricotta mix on top of the noodles
9. Place 2 mozzarella rounds on each noodle (6 total each layer)
10. Spread another 1 1/2 cups of sauce
11. Spread 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese on top of the sauce
12. Repeat  steps 7-11 and top the sauce with remaining mozzarella (shred it)
13. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving
14. Save additional sauce for Spaghetti, shells or ravioli later in the week

Leftover Sauce