Pioneer Woman's Best Ever Lasagna

I made 3, count 'em, 3 pans of this Lasagna for my dinner group this week! I have to admit it was a perfectly flavored Lasagna. I'm not a huge fan of meaty lasagnas, but as far as a meaty lasagna goes, this was definitely the best one I've ever had. It was also the prettiest... it didn't fall apart in the pan or on the plates... it was the most beautiful presentation! (Probably because the sauce was so thick!) And best of all, it was easy... no special tricky ingredients. Just basic stuff that is probably already in your pantry! For full, step by step directions with mouthwatering pictures, go to Pioneer Woman's site. But for your basic ingredient list, here it is. The only thing that may be different is the addition of the tomato juice/V8... we liked it better with the extra liquid.

Sauce:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. hot breakfast sausage (definitely use the hot... your lasagna will NOT be spicy and it adds the perfect kick to the flavor)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
3/4- 1 cup V8 juice or tomato juice
2 Tbsp dried Parsley
2 Tbsp dried Basil
1 tsp salt

Noodles:
10 oz. box lasagna noodles (you'll need at least 8 noodles... cook a couple extra just in case)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil

Cheese Filling:
3 cups cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
1 lb. sliced mozzarella cheese

1. Brown beef, sausage and minced garlic in heavy duty sauce pan. Drain excess fat. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, basil, and salt and stir to combine. Then simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes.

2. While your sauce is simmering, boil some water in a large saucepan and add your lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 Tbsp. oil to your water to keep the noodles from sticking. Cook until "al dente"... you want them to still have some bite as they'll be baked still.

3. While your sauce is simmering and your noodles are cooking, mix up your cheese mixture by combining the cottage cheese, beaten eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and salt. Mix to combine well.

Now, to assemble:
Layer 4 noodles along the bottom of your pan, slightly overlapping them. Next top with 1/2 of your cottage cheese mixture. Now lay 1/2 of your mozzarella slices on top of that. Finally top with 1/2 of your meat mixture. And repeat. Top off your final meat mixture with a very generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Now, pop it in a 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Trust me, this is good stuff. But how could you possibly go wrong with Pioneer Woman?