Meaty Lasagna
Sauce Ingredients
1 lb spicy or mild Italian sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
2 jars marinara sauce (28-32 oz)
1 small jar pesto (about 6 oz)
Lasagna ingredients
1 lb no boil lasagna noodles (I use Barilla) - there is always some leftover
1 - 15 oz container ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp Italian seasonings
4 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 375.
Brown ground beef and sausage together breaking them up as you go. Drain any excess grease. Add in marinara and pesto sauce. Remove from heat.
In medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, 3 cups of mozzarella, parmesan cheese and italian seasonings.
Spray a deep 9”x13” pay with non-stick cooking spray.
Cover the bottom of the dish with 1 cup of the sauce. Place lasagna noodles over sauce leaving a little space. They get bigger when they cook.
Spread 1 1/2 cups sauce over noodles and dollop 3/4 cup cheese mixture over that.
Repeat for 3 more layers (pasta, meat sauce, cheese mixture).
For the last layer top with noodles. Then cover with remaining sauce (or as much as looks good to you - you dont want too much) and then sprinkle with the last cup of mozzarella. If you have extra cheese mixture left over, dollop that around the top before the mozzarella.
Cover with foil but don’t let it touch the cheese. If you would like to freeze, wrap tight and freeze it now.
Bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.
When you want to bake the frozen it is best it you let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours. Then bake at 425 for 45 minutes covered and 15 uncovered.