American Kitchen Classic Lasagna

The dish is believed to have originated in Italy. However, the term "lasagna" comes from the Greeks. The Romans and then the Italians afterwards used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. It wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish. The recipe was also featured in the first cookbook ever written in England, leading to an urban legend that the dish originated in the British Isles. The Romans probably brought it with them during their limited visit. Early Italian immigrants brought it to America and it has now become one of the most popular Italian dishes to grace American tables.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 9  uncooked  lasagna noodles
•  cooking spray
• 1  lb Italian pork sausage
• 1  lb  ground round
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (Hunts)
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained (Hunts, use the one with basil, garlic and oregano)
• 4  tablespoons  fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped and divided
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2  cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1  cup romano cheese, shredded and divided
• 2  eggs, beaten
• 2  tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 3  cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking.
2. While the noodles cook, spray large saucepan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until hot and add sausage and ground chuck. Cook and stir 5 minutes to crumble meat. You want to have very small pieces of meat.
3. Add onion and garlic to pan. Continue cooking 8 to 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain meat mixture well. Add crushed and undrained tomatoes, 1 tablespoon parsley, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt.
4. Bring meat mixture to a boil. Reduce heat; cook uncovered over medium-low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Place ricotta, 3/4 cup of the Romano cheese, eggs, remaining parsley, basil and remaining pepper in medium bowl; blend well. Set aside.
6. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup meat sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Place 3 lasagna noodles over sauce, top with 2 cups meat sauce, half of ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
7. Repeat layers ending with a layer of noodles topped with sauce and the remaining mozzarella and Romano cheeses.
8. Spray underside of aluminum foil with cooking spray; cover dish tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.