10 LB. LASAGNA

10 Lb. Lasagna image

I call this the 10 lb. lasagna because the ingredients total about 10 lbs. I have been practicing my lasagna recipe for years and this is what I have finally come up with. Note: This lasagna can be made the day before and baked the next day. Or you can make this lasagna and freeze to bake at a later time. (If you freeze, please remember to allow extra baking time.)

Provided by herblady28

Categories One Dish Meal

Time 3h

Yield 10-12 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 16

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Ingredients

2 lbs ground Italian sausage (without casings)
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
lasagna noodle (boiled according to directions on box use 1-1/2 boxes)
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (can use herb seasoned canned diced tomatoes)
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
olive oil
4 -5 garlic cloves (chopped or minced)
1 diced onion (large)
1 minced onion (med-large)
italian seasoning
basil
sugar
wine (white or red)

Steps:

Tomato Sauce:.
Heat a deep-sided skillet or stock pot and add about 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add sausage and cook until just browned (3-4 minutes). Remove the meat from the skillet or pot and set aside. Adding at least another teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet or pot, sauté the 1 large diced onion and fresh minced or chopped garlic for a few minutes. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce to the skillet. Add browned Sausage to Tomatoes. Let tomato sauce come to a slight bubbling and turn heat down to simmer. Add at least 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) each of Italian seasoning, basil and sugar to the tomato sauce. Add several dashes of red or white wine for flavoring. Allow tomato sauce to simmer on medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, until tomato sauce is cooked down to about half the amount (about 30-45 minutes).
Ricotta Cheese Mixture:.
In a separate bowl mix together, ricotta cheese, 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, 1 cup parmesan cheese, 1 pkg. cream cheese, 1 med-large minced onion, 1 teaspoon basil. Set aside until ready to use.
Layering:.
Using a large deep-sided baking dish or lasagna pan, layer 1/3 tomato sauce, lasagna noodles, ½ ricotta cheese mixture, continue layering until you have ended with tomato sauce.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until heated thoroughly and bubbling about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take foil off and bake for another 15 minutes allowing cheese to lightly brown around the edges.