7 Cheese Lasagna

momoffive1972's Note:

This is one of my kids favorite meals. I have made this for family gatherings as well as work related functions. If you have a smaller family you could reduce the recipe to half. This is however great for left overs you can send it to work with a loved one. School is not a place to send it however the other kids tend to want what yours are having.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 4 cups ricotta cheese (2-16 oz containers)
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese (finely shredded)
• 2 cups romano cheese (finely shredded)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (finely shredded)
• 2 cups asiago cheese (finely shredded)
• 2 cups provolone cheese (finely shredded)
• 2 cups parmesan cheese (finely shredded)
• ¼ cup parsley (finely chopped, preferably fresh but dried is fine)
• 48 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 bay leaves (you can substitute both oregano and bay leaf with 1.5 tsp of italian seasoning)
• 2 fresh garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 large white onions (optional, minced finely, your choice) or 1 large yellow onion (optional, minced finely, your choice)
• 1 ½ lbs Italian sausage (or a mixture of the two if you want is fine) (optional) or 1 ½ lbs ground beef (or a mixture of the two if you want is fine) (optional)
• 3 (16 ounce) packages no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. Put all of sauce ingredients in a large sauce pan simmer over low heat. Remove bay leaves if you use them.
2. Combine meat and onions if you decide to use them in a skillet. Brown, drain and rinse to remove any extra unwanted fats. Completely cool sauce before you begin layering. (it may be easier to prepare sauce the day before, it can be made ahead and put in freezer if you want just remember to have ample time to let it thaw before use).
3. While sauce is cooling mix dry cheeses together in large bowl, mix well and then reserve approximately 1 cup for topping. Then add in Ricotta and Parsley, blend together till well blended.
4. Preheat oven to 400°F.
5. Spray a large roasting pan with non stick cooking spray.
6. Begin layering ingredients. First layer is cheese, then sauce, and then noodles, continue to repeat all the way through I have found through the years of making this dish it is easier to layer the cheese by hand. The last layer is sauce. Sprinkle reserved cheese over top.
7. Reduce heat to 350°F and cook for 1.5 hours or until noodles are done.