Mom’s Fabulous Lasagna

For 8 Servings, Mom’s Fabulous Lasagna keeps the list centered on lean ground beef or ground turkey, chopped onion and sugar. Set aside about 115 minutes.

• Yield 8 Servings
• Ready in 115 minutes
• Prep 35 minutes
• Cook 80 minutes

Ingredients

Red Sauce

• 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Creamy Filling

• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese or a combination of ricotta and cottage cheese
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Noodles and Cheese

• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 9 no-boil lasagna noodles

Instructions

1. For the sauce, in a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the ground meat and onion until the meat is cooked through. Drain any excess grease. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, dried basil, salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes.
2. For the filling, in a medium bowl mix the ricotta, egg, basil, parsley, salt, and Parmesan cheese.
3. To assemble the lasagna, lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan. Spread 1/2 cup or so of the sauce over the bottom into a thin layer. Layer as follows: 3 noodles, red sauce, creamy filling, mozzarella, 3 noodles, red sauce, creamy filling, mozzarella, 3 noodles, red sauce, remaining mozzarella. (Basically, all layers - the noodles, red sauce, mozzarella - are split into three layers and the creamy filling is divided among two layers.)
4. Cover with greased foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 20-30 minutes more until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Give it a minute off the heat, then serve it while it is still hot.