Recipe Swap: Alisha's Lasagna

I've been trying to make this recipe for what seems like forever. I knew it was going to feed a crowd so I was trying to plan it on a Sunday when my family is usually at our house. This Sunday I finally made the lasagna. I don't have a lasagna pan, so I had to use my 9x13 baking dish. Somehow, I ended up with enough lasagna for TWO baking dishes. I'm sure I screwed something up along the way, but it worked out great for me. I ended up freezing the entire second baking dish. There's nothing better than having a home cooked meal during the week with no work involved (or dishes to clean). Simply pop in the oven and you're ready to go! If you don't want to make as much I'm sure you can half the recipe and be just fine.

Alisha's Lasagna
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What you'll need:

• 1/2 onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• can of tomato paste
• big can of tomato sauce
• two cans of diced tomatoes
• spices-oregano, basil, Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper, sugar
• pack of lasagna noodles
• bag of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• two small containers of ricotta cheese
• two pounds lean ground beef

What you'll do:

1. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Dice your onion, and mince the garlic, then saute them in the olive oil until onions are transparent.
2. Then put tomato paste in the pot and stir into the onion and garlic. You almost want the paste to burn in the pan, it gives the sauce a nice flavor.
3. Then add in the sauce, and fill the sauce can up with water and put that in too (I only added half a can of water...I like my sauce a little on the thick side).
4. Then add the diced tomatoes, and spices...I just do about a teaspoon of each...oregano, basil, lots of Italian Seasoning, salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Season to taste. Let simmer for at LEAST 30 minutes...the longer it simmers, the tastier :)
5. In the meantime, go ahead and brown your ground beef. Drain, and mix into simmering sauce.
6. Now go ahead and boil your noodles, about 8-10 minutes, or until they are al dente. Make sure to salt your pasta water to give flavor to the noodles.
7. Drain the noodles, and you are ready to start layering. Get a lasagna pan, and put meat sauce on the bottom, then noodles, sauce, cheese (I do dollops of ricotta with mozzarella on top), and keep layering until you end up with cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes with foil on top so the cheese won't burn (I took my foil off about 8 minutes before serving so that my cheese would get really melted and gooey...yummm). Pull out of oven and let set a few minutes before serving.

I served with garlic cheese bread because it just seemed like the right thing to do. This is a good, hearty meal that makes you just want to gather your entire family around the table.

Thank you, Alisha, for sharing this wonderful recipe!!