How to Make Homemade Italian Lasagna

My husband comes from an Italian family, so he grew up eating authentic Italian food. Shortly after we got married, my mother-in-law invited me over to her home so that I could learn to make their family lasagna recipe. We spent the afternoon making homemade garlic bread, salads and of course, the lasagna.

Here is the recipe that she passed down to me, and now I am passing it down to my daughter.

Italian Lasagna Recipe

Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 lb. lean ground beef
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup water

Filling:

1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 packages frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese, grated
salt to taste
pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste

In a large saucepan, brown the finely chopped onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add in the lean ground beef, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Fry the beef until its done and no longer pink. Drain off the excess grease and discard. Stir in the rest of the tomato sauce ingredients and heat the sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes and then turn the heat down to low and simmer sauce for 30 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients. Use enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together.

In a large stock pot, cook the lasagna noodles in hot salted water according to package directions. Drain water and set aside.

In a large rectangular baking dish, alternate layers of sauce, pasta noodles and filling until all ingredients are used. Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover the baking dish with one layer of aluminum foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, remove foil from baking dish and bake for an additional 15 minutes.