Traditional Easter Lasagna

This is gonna be a long one so be prepared, get ready, and hunker down for the long haul. But hopefully it will be worth the effort.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 bell pepper
4 cloves garlic minced
16 oz can tomato sauce
28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
12 oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 lasagna noodles
1 egg
15 oz Ricotta cheese
1 pinch ground nutmeg
16 oz shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef and Italian sausage with onion, bell pepper, garlic and olive oil. Drain and switch to crockpot. Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Place lasagna noodles in a deep bowl and cover with very hot tap water. Let sit for about half an hour.

Beat egg in a bowl and stir in Ricotta cheese, 2 tbsps parsley, salt and nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover bottom of 9x13 baking dish with one cup of sauce mixture followed by 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of Ricotta cheese mixture, 1/3 of shredded mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers twice more ending with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes or until lasagna noodles are tender and casserole is bubbling. Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes until cheese coating is lightly browned.

Spring Brownies

In honor of the first day of spring, I made brownies. Not really. I mean, I did make brownies but for no particular reason other than I saw this recipe and I've been meaning to make them for awhile and so today I finally did. I got this from Allrecipes but they are oh so delicious. I would definitely recommend you make these.

1/2 cup of white sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water
1-1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt



Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.