Dave's Ultimate Meatball Lasagna Recipe

I just whomped this up on a whim one evening. I had had a serious hankering for some lasagna, but I can't stand the frozen crap they sell in the stores. Marie Calendar's is not too bad, but they're all just loaded with salt and preservatives. I had some CostCo frozen Italian meatballs in the freezer and thought that might be a good basis for some home made lasagna. After Googling around for some ideas, here's what I came up with. Prep time was a little under two hours.

There are basically four preparation steps for this:

1. Tomato Sauce
2. Cheese Sauce
3. Lasagna Noodles
4. Final Bake

Step 1 - Meat Preparation

• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1/2 lb (approx 14) frozen Italian meatballs (from CostCo)

1. In a large pot, brown the sausage.
2. In the meantime, thaw the meatballs in the microwave for 2 minutes at 80% power. === Don't === cook the meatballs, they're already cooked, just thaw them.
3. Slice the meatballs into three slices.
4. Drain the grease from the sausage and set aside with the meatballs.

Step 2 - Tomato Sauce Preparation

• 1 jar of Prego Marinara sauce
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes - Italian style with oregano and basil. (Now, I didn't do this, but I think sun dried tomatoes might also be good here instead.)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 onion (or whole, if you prefer) chopped
• Garlic, as much as you like, minced
• 1 can of sliced mushrooms. Ok, you can use fresh, sliced, mushrooms too. I just happen to like the taste and convenience of canned mushrooms. Some people can't stand them, but I like them.
• Several bay leaves
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 bunch of fresh basil, chopped (added near the end of simmering)

1. Add all ingredients to the large pot you cooked the sasuage in, except for the basil which goes in later.
2. Add the meat and simmer for about 45 minutes.
3. Add the shredded basil and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 3 - Cheese Sauce Preparation

• 1 container (12 oz?) ricotta cheese
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach, blanched and chopped
• Another bunch of fresh basil, chopped
• 1 to 2 eggs
• 1 cup parmisan cheese

1. Wash and blanch the spinach in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. You don't want to cook it, just soften it slightly. The end amount is about a cup's worth, so start off with a lot because it reduces significantly.
2. Beat the egg, ricotta, and parmisan cheese together in a large bowl.
3. Add the chopped spinach and basil, and mix it all in.

Step 4 - Lasagna Noodle Preparation

• 1 package lasagna noodles
• Olive oil
• Salt (if you must)

1. Fire up a very large pot of water with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The olive oil keeps the pasta from getting stuck togther.
2. Add the lasagna noodles a few pieces at a time so that you don't kill the boil.
3. Boil for 9 minutes. Don't overcook it - it should be a little undercooked than the classical "al dente" stage.

Step 5 - Assembly

• Lasagna noodles
• Cheese sauce
• Sliced black olives - Kalmata, if you're in the mood
• Tomato sauce
• Mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat a large glass baking dish with olive oil.
3. Lay down a layer of lasagna noodles.
4. Spoon half of the cheese sauce over the noodles.
5. Dot the cheese sauce with the black olives.
6. Lay down another layer of lasagna noodles.
7. Spoon half of the tomato/meat sauce over the noodles.
8. Repeat for a second layer.
9. On top of the last tomato/meat sauce layer, cover with mozzarella cheese.
10. The oven should be preheated now, so cram the dish in the oven.

Step 6 - Final Bake

• 1 Assembled Lasagna

1. Cook in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
2. Let stand for 15 minutes outside of the oven after baking is complete. Don't worry, there's a lot of thermal mass in the lasagna, so it isn't going to go cold on you. You have to let it stand so it will "set up" properly. If you dig into it right away, you'll wind up with a plateful of tomato soup. And that's the reason why you don't want to overcook the pasta.
3. Cut into servings with a metal spatula and gobble it up. Shed a tear of joy for your mama with each mouthful.