I have been cooking this dish for as long as I had the Betty Crocker cookbook. It has gotten much easier since I discovered no-boil lasagne noodles. Over the years, I have replaced the ingredients with what the family likes in the dish. This recipe no longer looks like what it was in the cook book. This is our go-to fix whenever we crave Italian for dinner.

• Prep Time: 1 hours
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

(A) Cheese Spread

• 1 carton (16 oz) ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp ground oregano

(B) Sauce

• 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 32 oz red pasta sauce (I like to use the big jar of Classico fire roasted tomato sauce from Costco)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

(C) for assembly

• 12 no-boil lasagne noodles
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

To prepare sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven and brown the chopped onions and minced garlic.
2. Add sausage and break it up using two spatulas. Continue cooking until sausage is almost done.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms and continue cooking over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add red pasta sauce, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 mins over medium-low heat until a layer of oil forms on top.
5. Divide the sauce into 4 equal portions.

To prepare cheese spread:

1. Stir ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, and ground oregano together in a mixing bowl until well blended. Set aside.

To assemble lasagne:

1. Spread one portion of sauce mixture evenly in a rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches.
2. Top with 4 noodles.
3. Spread half the cheese mixture evenly over the lasagne noodles.
4. Spread with another portion of sauce evenly over the layer of cheese.
5. Sprinkle 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce.
6. Repeat steps 2-5.
7. Top with 4 noodles.
8. Spread the last portion of sauce mixture evenly over the noodles.
9. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese evenly over the noodles.
10. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight.
11. The next day, remove lasagne from the refrigerator an hour before cooking.
12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
13. Bake lasagne, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, about 50 minutes.
14. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.
15. Sprinkle with additional grated parmesan cheese before serving.