• 1 lb. sweet Italian Sausage
• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
• 1/2C minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 12 oz can tomato paste
• 1 28 oz can tomato sauce (Hunts)
• 1/2-3/4C water
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/2C fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 Tbsp's fresh parsley

• 12 Lasagna noodles
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese (slices)
• 3/4 C parmesan cheese, seasoned

In a large dutch oven, cook sausage and beef with onion and garlic. Drain fat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Add in sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and parsley stir to combine. Cook for 2 hours r so, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce is ready:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions (8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. If using ravioli, cook for 3-5 minutes only and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta with beaten egg, parsley and salt.

Preheat oven to 375˚.

Spray a 9x13” deep dish lasagna pan. Spread 1-1/2C of red sauce on bottom. Layer with pasta on top and spread with half the ricotta mixture. Layer with mozzarella slices. Sprinkle parmesan and repeat layers ending with mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with sprayed foil (to keep the cheese from sticking). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbling. Allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving.

While I typically shy away from “packaged” ingredients, I wanted a variation on the regular lasagna, so I went with Ricotta and Spinach stuffed ravioli…pre-made from my local grocery. I layered it the same, and didn’t use as much ricotta in the layers. I used my homemade red sauce tho, which I already had on hand. Using frozen sauce cuts the cook time to an hour so its great for weeknight dinners.