Preparation Steps

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and Italian sausage over medium heat. Drain off any excess fat.
  1 pound ground beef
• Add the chopped onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
  1 pound ground beef
• Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook, covered, for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  1 pound ground beef
• While the sauce is simmering, prepare the cheese filling. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, beaten egg, grated Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley. Mix well.
  1 pound ground beef
• To assemble the lasagna, spread about 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  1 pound ground beef
• Layer 3-4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, then spread about half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles.
  1 pound ground beef
• Spoon about 1.5 cups of meat sauce over the ricotta mixture, and sprinkle with about one-third of the mozzarella cheese.
  1 pound ground beef
• Repeat the layering process two more times: noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, and mozzarella. End with a final layer of noodles, the remaining meat sauce, and the remaining mozzarella cheese.
  1 pound ground beef
• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
• Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.