Meat Lasagna

It was my friend's birthday tonight and she had family coming into town, so for her present I cooked dinner for her and her family. She asked for a meat lasagna, served with my herbed garlic bread and a salad. Her cake was my carrot cake (I'll eventually part with that recipe, but for now, I'm holding that one close to home).

Meat Lasagna
Sauce:

• 1 lb. ground beef (or a mixture of beef and pork, if you prefer. Sometimes called meatball or meatloaf mix in the butcher section).
• 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced green pepper
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground red pepper
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
• 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
• 1 can tomato paste (4 oz.)

Cheese Filling:

• 32 oz. container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese2 eggs
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• ground black pepper, optional

• 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

• 1 lb. lasagna noodles
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt

In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally (you can also put it in a slow cooker for 4 to 6 hours on HIGH or 8 to 10 hours on low).

Combine the ricotta Parmesan, eggs, garlic,and spices. Refrigerate until sauce is done and you are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Fill a large pot with water, add olive oil and salt, and bring to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles for 8-10 minutes until soft, drain.

Reserve 1/2 the mozzarella cheese for the topping.

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a 13x9 in. pan, ladle 1-2 cups of sauce in bottom of the pan, spread evenly. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining mozzarella. Ladle 1-2 cups of the sauce evenly over cheese. Repeat noodle, cheese and sauce layers two more times. Finish with one final layer of noodles. Ladle 1-2 cups of sauce over the noodles. Top with the 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.

Cover loosely with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.