Lasagna Classico

This lasagna recipe went over well in our house last night.  The kids even ate the mushrooms.  It's based on this classic lasagna recipe from the always excellent Allrecipes.com and submitted by Allrecipes user Barb R.  I changed the ingredients a little bit based upon my personal (and family's) preferences and based upon some of the comments of the recipe's reviewers.  I describe my changes below the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup of fresh onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried oregano
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh or dried sweet basil
• 1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 pound grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

The original recipe called for the use of garlic salt, but I prefer to use fresh garlic.  It also called for 16 ounces of mushrooms, but my kids don't care for mushrooms.  I figured I could get 8 ounces past them without them complaining too much, but not 16 ounces.  I also added olive oil and fresh minced onions to the sauce.  I used freshly grated Parmesan.  Lastly, I added more Parmesan to the cheese mixture and on top of the final product.

Directions (my directions, while based on it, are slightly different than those at the original recipe;  the main difference is the ordering of the steps which, I think, are slightly more efficient time-wise relative to those given on the original recipe):

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the ground beef and sausage over medium heat; drain. Stir in the onions, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, and tomato products. Season with salt and pepper to taste; simmer 30 minutes.*
2. While the meat sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and olive oil; cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Also at this time, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, and about 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese in a bowl.  Set aside the remaining Parmesan.
4. Ladle enough of the meat sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom in a thin layer. Form a layer atop the sauce with 3 of the lasagna noodles. Spread about 1/4 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese mixture and then ladle about 1/3 of the meat sauce over the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice more.  On the last layer, do not add the remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Cover with tinfoil and bake in a preheated oven 70 minutes. After the 70 minutes are finished, remove the foil and spread the remaining mozzarella and the remaining Paremesan over the top of the lasagna.  Replace uncovered in the oven and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.
6. Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

The result was a flavorful lasagna, better than most I've had at restaurants.  Make sure that when you cook this, begin approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes before your meal.

*If you like a spicier sauce, you can add red pepper flakes or some paprika to the sauce in the first step.  You can also keep some of the grease from the frying of the meat to add a little extra flavor to the sauce.  I reserved about 2 tablespoons of grease for this purpose.