Lasagna

I'm back! Did ya miss me? ;) Like April said, we bought our first house 2.5 weeks ago, and things have been a bit crazy since then! But we're officially unpacked now, and once our %*&!@ couch finally arrives at the furniture store for us to pick up (it was supposed to be in on Saturday, but no), we'll be good to go.

I've had tons of fun in my new kitchen already. The inspiration for this recipe (I only changed a few things) was another one I found out of a cooking magazine I got recently, and it's extremely delicious. I made it for dinner one night, then we ate it for dinner again the next night, and I'm eating more leftovers for lunch today. My kids normally love lasagna at restaurants, but of course when *I* spend an hour slaving away in a hot kitchen to make them a fantastic lasagna from scratch, not one of them will touch it. Punks.

Making lasagna isn't quick. It's not difficult, by any means, but it's a process. It took me a good hour to do. But it's so worth it! It's definitely one of my ultimate comfort foods.

Ingredients:
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
12 ounces ground beef
1/2 pound bulk hot sausage
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 onion, diced
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 15 ounce container ricotta
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook sausage, beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat. When meat is done, add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, basil and pepper. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine egg, ricotta, parsley and salt.

Drain noodles. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a greased (I used butter, but you can use cooking spray if you want) 9x13 baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, then 2 cups meat sauce, 2/3 cup ricotta mixture, 2/3 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat twice. (The ricotta won't spread extremely well without messing up the layer of meat sauce you already have down. So what I did is just "dot" the ricotta around evenly with my fingers, if that makes sense.)

Sprinkle any extra parsley on the very top.

Then cover and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer, or until the cheese gets a little golden brown tint to it. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I was tiiiiiired after standing in the kitchen for that long, so I served mine simply with some frozen Texas cheese toast. But if you're really motivated, serve it with these breadsticks and a green salad!

What's your favorite comfort food?