A perennial family favorite!  Lasagna was the first thing I began to perfect as a college student.  It’s less a recipe and more a collection of ingredients.  I make it whenever I want to love on someone… when my Bestie comes in for a visit, when my cousin Alan comes in with his kids, when there is an illness, an accident, a tragedy, a Birthday. Lasagna is a labor of love. It is time consuming and love is baked in to ever bite. It fills the belly, but it feeds the soul.

See my gluten free, night shade free, cow dairy free version here. Still amazing!

INGREDIENTS:

• Marinara (if you don’t want to make your own, I love Newman’s)
• Lasagna sheets
• 1/2 chopped yellow onion
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped and sautéed
• 1/2 pound of Italian sausage (no casing)
• 1/2 ground beef
• 1 cup of chopped broccoli (frozen is fine)
• 24 ounces of fresh mushrooms, sliced (3 jars if you prefer)
• 16 ounces of ricotta
• 8 ounces of mozzarella
• Parmesan
• Fresh herbs
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tsp of olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil your pasta and set aside

Cook beef until done.  Drain and set aside.

Cook pork in the same pan.  Drain and set aside.

Sauté onion in olive oil.  When translucent, garlic for 2 minutes more.  Add to the beef.

Sauté mushrooms in the red wine. Cook out the liquid.

Finely chop broccoli and sauté the broccoli until tender. If using frozen, thaw and sauté to remove excess moisture.

Mix the Ricotta with 1 egg and 1/2 cup of fresh herbs. Add a touch of salt, pepper and cooked garlic.

Assemble in 3 layers { I like beef and grated cheese / veggie and ricotta mix / pork and cheese

Bake at 375 degrees until everything is gold and bubbly (about 20 minutes)