I've been making my lasagna recipe since my early 20s. When I moved into my first apartment at age 19, I decided to learn my way around a kitchen and started experimenting with my favorite cuisine, Italian. At first, more spaghetti landed on the ceiling than on the plate, but ultimately, I perfected my go to dish: T's Meaty Lasagna.

It became my good luck dish. I made it for my friends every time one of my TV movies premiered, which back then was a lot. Hey friends, come eat lasagna and watch me get stalked, killed, and shoot a bad pimp. Ahhh, those were the days! Nowadays, I make my lasagna for family and friends whenever we feel like a cozy home cooked meal. This Christmas / New Year’s, we went away to a house in the mountains. We didn't get any snow like expected, but I did make my lasagna dinner! Here's the recipe...

Disclaimer: I've never formally written this recipe down. It's all in my head. So I apologize if I've given it to anyone before and the measurements are slightly different.

T’s Meaty Lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 cup minced onion
• 3 gloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
• 1 tablespoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bags (approximately) shredded mozzarella
• Lots of grated parmesan cheese

Prepare

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on high. When hot, add onion and garlic and heat on medium. When starting to brown, add ground beef and sausage. When all is well browned, drain liquid and transfer to a large pot. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Season with basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours to reduce and thicken sauce, stirring occasionally.
2. Fill another large pot with water. Add drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bring to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, egg, Italian parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and approximately 1 cup grated parmesan.
4. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble

1. Spread 1 ½ cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles so that they slightly overlap and cover the baking dish length wise. Spread with one half of the ricotta/parmesan mixture.
2. Cover it all with shredded mozzarella. And then, repeat the layers starting with the meat sauce. When you've finished, and the top layer is mozzarella cheese, sprinkle the whole top with grated parmesan cheese. 
3. Cover with foil to prevent sticking. Make sure to spray the foil with cooking spray, or make sure foil doesn't touch the cheese.

Bake

1. Place your lasagna in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.
2. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the top of the cheese is slightly browned.
3. Cool for fifteen minutes before serving.

We had leftover meat sauce and a little ricotta mixture so with that we made...

Lasagna Cupcakes

Same idea as above, but use a cupcake pan. Spray the cupcake pan with cooking spray, and line each cupcake tin with two lasagna noodles that you wrap around the tin to make a cupcake holder base. In the center, add meat sauce, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Cover with foil and then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling but not burnt.

Dean made these and they were amazing! We had lasagna cupcakes for leftovers for days.

Garlic Bread

Of course you can’t serve lasagna without garlic bread! Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients

• Garlic, crushed
• Butter
• Dried basil
• Chopped Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mayo

I’ve included no measurements, because this one is all to taste. Depends on how garlicky or buttery you want it!!

Directions

1. In a bowl, melt butter and combine with crushed garlic, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper.
2. Slice a French bread loaf lengthwise, giving you two halves. 
3. On a parchment paper lined baking pan or cookie sheet, place the two halves and (my trick... wait for it...with a knife, spread a thick layer of mayo. Trust me!). 
4. Then brush on the garlic/butter mixture thickly until you see the mixture start to soak through the bread.
5. Put under the broiler for 4 to 8 minutes. Everyone's broiler is different, so this is approximate.

Do you have a signature dish? Share it in the comments below!

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