My roommate from my last year at NCSU taught me to make lasagna, but that was later, when both of us were living in Denver and shortly before I lost her to the romantic advances of one of my office mates. Okay, well, technically, the advances were more on her side than on his in the beginning, but jays, the chick starts dating him and I lose all access? Men[1].

So, anyway. Sheri's husband, Tom[2], has an equally-excellent recipe for pasta sauce, but hers is the one I crave and it's much easier to make. This recipe makes enough for four bread-pan lasagnas, so I freeze.

Sheri's Lasagna

2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic[3]
2 Tablespoons olive oil [4]
1 pound mild italian sausage[5]
1 pound hot italian sausage[6]
2 Cans (6oz) Tomato Paste
2 6oz-can's worth of water
8 14-oz cans diced tomatoes[7]
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning Mix
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pepper
5 bay leaves
4 Tablespoon sugar
2 pound lasagna noodles
2 pound ricotta cheese
4 Tablespoon parsley flakes[8]
Lots of Mozzarella Cheese

Chop the onion and garlic coarsely. Add the olive oil to a large, cold pan[9] and turn on the heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, stirring frequently. When the onion softens, add the sausage and brown it. If, like me, your sausage refuses to de-clump properly[10], use a potato masher[11] to break it up farther.

Add tomato paste, water, tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and sugar to the large pot and stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for as long as you can[12].

Boil noodles[13], drain.

Mix ricotta cheese and parsley.

Spread a thin layer of sauce[14] on the bottom of a bread pan[15],[16].

Lay one noodle on clean working surface. Smear the top with the ricotta mix, then lay the noodle on top of the sauce. For a bread pan, this takes about one and a half noodle.

Sprinkle mozzarella over this layer. Add another layer of sauce, then noodle & ricotta, mozzarella. Keep going until you:

  • run out of sauce
  • run out of noodles
  • are going to run out of pan.

Cover with Aluminum foil, cook at 375°F for 30 minutes[17]. Uncover and sprinkle with more mozzarella, cook an additional 15 minutes.


[1] So, anyway, bitterness over with, even though I had to wear the world's most evil bridesmaid's dress at their wedding.
[2] Yes, the aforementioned office mate. It's not really my fault, though. The Brenda thought of it.
[3] 'Garlic don't need no reason.' - Alton Brown.
[4] This should not be the extra-expensive extra-virgin olive oil. The fruitiness that I pay good money for is better used on a nice salad rather than evaporating over my stove.
[5] I use bulk rather than rope because I'm fundamentally a very lazy person.
[6] Find a good sausage before committing yourself to two lasagna's worth of sauce.
[7] This is a lot of tomatoes, but buy them in bulk or get half as many 28-oz cans. Do not drain the juice, since it will cook down during the long simmering.
[8] I have used both dried and fresh, and either works. I add it for pretty green flecks.
[9] I use my 6-qt dutch oven, and this recipe fills it to the brim.
[10] Why is it that I can never get meatballs to hold together, yet my sausage continually clumps?
[11] Or a 'banana masher' if you're like me and use it primarily to mush bananas for banana bread. It's just a big utensil with a wire making a curvy-road on the bottom. It mashes.
[12] A slow-cooker is really good for this if you have one big enough. Start the preparations prior to leaving the house in the morning and when you come home, the house smells like tomato sauce!
[13] I don't consider the 'No Boiling Needed!' noodles to be any good. From all the experience I've had with them, the end result is either crunchy or mushy. Ew.
[14] Pick out the bay leaves!
[15] I use a bread pan for the taller sides. Most of my lasagna experience, however, is in 9x13 pans. They work really well but only hold three layers of noodles. I can get five into a bread pan.
[16] If you're going to freeze the lasagna, coat the pan with oil, then line the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and brush the foil with more oil. Assemble the lasagna in pan, then fold the edges over to cover. Freeze the pan, pull the foil-wrapped frozen lasagna brick out, and put it in a big zip-loc bag (or freezer paper, or whatever). When reheating time comes around, pop the foil-wrapped brick into the bread pan and bake as usual, adding about a half-hour to the cooking time.
[17] I usually place a jelly-roll pan under the lasagna pan to catch dripping sauce or cheese because I enjoy living on the edge.

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