Back when I’d hire people at the company I worked for, I always took a list of questions with me called, “Creative Icebreakers”. Since the department I worked in was an agency, I needed to make sure interviewees were not only creative, but were able to think up creative ideas (or try to) on the spot. One of the questions on this list was: If you were only allowed to eat one meal/dish for the rest of your life, what would it be? You may ask, Carmen what the heck does that have to do with marketing? Well, let me explain. If I asked what their last meal would be, they’d choose a dish they love, and that would be the end of the conversation; a quick response to a seemingly easy question. However, there are no consequences to choosing that meal, because as stated, it would be their last meal (stay with me here people!). Instead, I want to dive a little deeper into their psyche and hear an explanation as to why they choose to eat a certain dish everyday for the rest of their lives. This decision has consequences, and in turn, I get to a) See their creativity in the answer itself, and b) Get a sneak peek into their thought process. A very casual question, but one that gives a lot of insight into the person.
Anywho! The whole point that long winded ramble is this: The only dish I would eat for the rest of my life would be this lasagna (or possibly Ramen from RakiRaki). You may ask, why this lasagna? Because it’s just that DANG good. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think. Cheers!
The Most Delicious Lasagna Recipe
- Total Time: 4 Hrs
- Yield: 10 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
- 1 onion, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes (fire-roasted tomatoes work great too!)
- 1 (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp white sugar
- 2 Tbsp dried basil leaves
- Kosher Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
- 5 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 egg
- 16 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Grab your Dutch oven! Begin to cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat – until browned. Then stir in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- Once stirred fully, add sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Cover and simmer for around 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles as directed on bag/box, usually around 8-10min. Drain and rinse noodles in cold water.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese and egg, remaining parsley, and a dash of salt.
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- Now it’s time for the assembly of this delicious dish! In a 9×13″ baking dish, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom.; arrange noodles over sauce (lengthwise), and spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture overtop, followed with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cup sauce over mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with 1/3 parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, until there’s no more sauce to be had! Finish by topping the lasagna with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- This bad boy is ready for the oven! Cover the lasagna with foil, making sure it doesn’t touch the cheese.
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool for 20 minutes before serving.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
