dinner. and lunch. and dinner. and lunch...

Big-Assed Lasagna

olive oil as needed
2 lbs ground beef
14 ounces Italian style chicken sausage
1 tablespoon Italian spice blend
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
32 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
60 oz ricotta cheese
8 ounces (by weight) freshly grated parmesan and romano blend
8 ounces Tillamook Italian three cheese blend, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
4 eggs, well beaten
18 lasagna noodles (you don't have to cook them first, just put them in dry. And don't use those "ready to bake" noodles, they get too mushy.)
2 24-ounce jars of pasta sauce, your favorite flavor

Remove chicken sausage from casings and put in pan.  Cook it with the ground beef with garlic, onion, Italian spices and whatever else you think will taste good with it until fully cooked, chopping as you cook it. Turn off heat & let sit until cool enough to handle with your bare hands. Once cooled, you may want to break up the larger pieces of meat with your fingers. Then stir in about a cup of pasta sauce.

In another bowl, mix ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, grated Italian cheese blend, parsley, eggs, and about six ounces of the parm/romano blend.

Using a BIG lasagna pan (mine is 12" x 16" x 2 1/2" deep):
Layer 1: Pour a jar of sauce in.
Layer 2: Lasagna noodles (my pan takes six noodles per layer)
Layer 3: Ground beef/sausage mixture
Layer 4: Half of the grated mozzarella
Layer 5: Lasagna noodles
Layer 6: Ricotta cheese mixture
Layer 7: Lasagna noodles
Layer 8: The 2nd jar of sauce
Layer 9: The other half of the mozzarella and two ounces of the parm/romano blend

Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour or so. Let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting & serving.

Addendum: Makes 15 generous portions. 15! Guess whose freezer is full tonight! KEEWERD