What's for dinner: Ruth's lasagna

Ruth is Dave’s mother. Unfortunately I never got to meet her. He says she was a big fan of Julia Child, so I suspect we would have gotten along pretty well. Last night was my first time making this recipe, though in the past I have enjoyed this lasagna when Dave made it for a crowd. You can feed 8-10 people with this easily.

Ingredients A: 2 lb hamburger 1 lb Italian sausage 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 T parsley (I assume dried, but we use 3 T minced fresh parsley) 1 T basil (dried, we use 3 T fresh or frozen) 2 t salt 2 - 14 oz cans tomatoes or puree (or one large can) 2 - 6oz cans tomato paste 2 t sugar 1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients B: 1 10oz pkg wide lasagna noodles (you’ll need 12 noodles)

Ingredients C: 24 oz ricotta cheese (the original recipe uses large curd cottage cheese; I prefer ricotta) 2 eggs, beaten 2 t salt ½ t pepper 2 T parsley flakes (I use 6 T fresh minced parsley) ½ C grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients D: 1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced very thin or shredded

Directions:

A: Brown meat slowly, spoon off excess fat. Add rest of “A” and simmer uncovered until thick, about 45 min, stirring occasionally.

B: Cook noodles until tender, drain and rinse under cold water.

C: Combine ingredients

Put a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 10x13 deep casserole, just to cover. Place half of noodles in pan (about six noodles). Spread half of C over evenly, add half of the mozzarella cheese and half of A. Repeat layers. Top with a little shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. Bake in moderate oven (350) for 45 min then uncover and bake another 15 min. Let stand 10-15 min before serving.