The Perfect Classic Italian Lasagna

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Meat Sauce

• In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add beef and pork and saute until meat is cooked through and browned. Season with salt and pepper. 
• Add in marinara sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes while you finish the other prep. 

Ricotta Mixture

• In a medium size pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onion and saute for 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and fresh herbs and saute for 1 minute. 
• Remove onion mixture from the heat and put into a medium-size bowl. Add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and eggs. Whisk or use a hand mixer to thoroughly combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 
  

Lasagna Assembly

• In a small bowl or container, mix parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. 
• In a 9x13 baking pan, place 1 cup of the meat sauce at the bottom and spread to cover to reach all sides. 
• Place three lasagna noodles over the sauce and top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, spreading to make sure most of the noodles are covered. Top the ricotta mixture with 1/3 of the parmesan & mozzarella cheese mixture and then top that with 1/2 of the remaining marinara mixture. 
• Repeat with 3 more noodles, the second third of the ricotta mixture, the second third of the shredded cheese blend and the remaining sauce. This will make the second layer. Top with the last three noodles, the final third of the ricotta and final third of the shredded cheese blend. 
• Cover lasagna with foil and place in the oven on the middle rack to bake for 1 hour. Place a sheet pan on the rack below the lasagna to catch any drips. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to brown cheese. You can also use the broiler in your oven if the cheese is not browned enough at the end. 
• Remove lasagna from the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.