Lasagna

For the sauce:

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend (dried basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce (I like Rao’s)

For the lasagna:

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

16 ounces shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Fill a 9 x 13 pan with the hot tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef over high heat until cooked through.  Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to the ground beef.  Add marinara, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat. Cook for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, the egg, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9×12 rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the ricotta, half the mozzarella, and 1/3 of the sauce. For the next layer, add the rest of the pasta, ricotta, sauce, then mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes, covered with foil, until the sauce is bubbling.  Remove the foil, turn up the oven to broil, and broil lasagna until cheese begins to brown (about 2 minutes, watch it very closely). Let the lasagna cool for about 20 minutes before cutting into it.