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This is what constitutes a fancy meal at my house. It isn’t complicated, but does take time and planning. The recipe is based upon one my mother cut out of a magazine and I’ve eaten it nearly all my life.

Recipe First, in three parts:

1)      Meatballs

1# lean ground beef

2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

½ tsp. dried basil leaves

¾ tsp. salt

Dash pepper

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; toss lightly to mix well. Shape mixture into ¾” meatballs.  Brown the meatballs in hot olive oil in large skillet. Remove meatballs from pan, set aside.

2)      Sauce

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

2 14.5-oz cans chopped tomatoes, undrained

2 6-oz. cans tomato paste

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne

½ cup red wine

Saute onion, garlic, parsley in olive oil until tender. Add remaining sauce ingredients, stir well. Add meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

 3)  Remaining Ingredients

8-oz. lasagna pasta

1-lb. Mozzarella cheese, diced

1-lb. ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare 10-12 lasagne noodles by boiling as package indicates. Drain and rinse.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13X9” baking dish.

In baking dish, layer half the ingredients, in this order: lasagna, Mozzarella, Ricotta, tomato sauce with meatballs, and Parmesan; then repeat.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, uncovered, or until heated through. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serves 6-8.

The meatballs should be fairly small (no more than 3/4″) so the dish as a whole stays fairly flat. I used fresh basil today.

I used fresh basil in the sauce, too. I like to cut everything very fine for this recipe.

This is all the meatballs.

Here’s a picture of the sauce before it has simmered. It’s a very thick sauce. Stir it occasionally.

As you can see, the sauce is dolloped on, not poured. Here is what it looks like just before going into the oven.

Finished. Now let it rest for about ten minutes so it’s easier to slice and serve.