Baked Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Classic comfort food! I serve this with fresh garlic cheese bread and a small salad. Two 28 ounce cans of whole peeled or diced tomatoes Three 15 ounce cans tomato sauce One 6 ounce can tomato paste 1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes 1 Tablespoon Basil 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced Pour tomatoes into a large pot or pan. Break tomatoes up (use a stick blender if you don’t want chunky sauce). Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic, sugar, basil and parsley. Heat to just before boiling, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. 1 pound ground beef 1 pound Italian Sausage ½ yellow onion, finely diced or minced 4 cloves garlic, finely diced or minced ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning Blend 1 teaspoon Basil Brown ground beef, sausage, onion, and garlic. Add Italian Seasoning and basil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. 16 ounces Ricotta cheese ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 ½ teaspoons Oregano 1 ½ teaspoons Parsley flakes Blend Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, Oregano, and Parsley until well mixed. Fold in ½ of the cooked beef/sausage mixture. Add the other ½ of the cooked beef/sausage mixture to the finished sauce. 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 12 Lasagna noodles prepared according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350° F Rub the bottom and sides of a lasagna pan or large baking dish with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Place 4 of the lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan/dish. Spread ½ of the Ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with ¾ cup mozzarella cheese. Add a light layer of the meat sauce then cover with 4 more lasagna noodles. Repeat for another layer (spread Ricotta mix, sprinkle with mozzarella, add sauce) and top with the remaining 4 noodles. Add a layer of meat sauce on top of the lasagna and sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella cheese. Top with ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350° F for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for 15 minutes to brown the cheese. Top each serving with some of the remaining sauce and serve.