To Share or Not to Share - Two Pans of World's Best Lasagna

Two years ago I came across a recipe called World's Best Lasagna at allrecipes.com. Since then I have repeatedly tweaked the recipe. Since a little extra effort is required to make homemade lasagna, I decided to always double the batch to have an extra pan of lasagna to freeze. Having an extra lasagna in the freezer comes in handy when going to pot-lucks or visiting a friend who just had a baby. It's also nice just to keep it for yourself in your freezer for a future no-hassle dinner. It's great with garlic bread and salad.

Here's the recipe for two pans of World's Best Lasagna. It freezes well. If you made this recipe, would you keep both batches or give one pan of it away? It was a tough call since tonight's lasagna tasted so good, but I've decided to give my second lasagna to a friend - this time.

My friend will want to thaw this frozen lasagna in her refrigerator a day ahead, remove the freezer paper and bake in a preheated oven 375 degrees for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. Then, let it cool for 15 minutes to help the lasagna set up and not fall apart so easily.

Double Batch of World's Best Lasagna

• 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage

• 3/4 pound lean ground beef

• 3/4 cup minced onion

• 4-6 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 teaspoons processed garlic

• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

• 1 (28 ounce) can canned tomato sauce

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

• 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 12 lasagna noodles (6 per pan)

• 32 ounces ricotta cheese

• 2 eggs

• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for a minimum of thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 2-1/2 cups mozzarella, 3/4 cup Parmesan, eggs, and remaining parsley.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. For each 9 x 13 inch baking dish (or disposable foil pan): spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan. Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one fourth of the ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!