what are the key ingredients for a saucy lasagna?

This is an excellent recipe. Yeah, I know, CHEDDAR CHEESE? I first did this in Scotland where ricotta was hard to find and it was a big hit, my Italian friend loved it. If you cook it till bubbly then you can use dry lasagna noodles and they will come out cooked. You might also find types where they say you don't have to boil them first.

~~~~~< LASAGNA >~~~~~

14 lasagna noodles olive oil 1 lb italian sausage meat

1 lb hamburger 1 C wine 1 large can diced tomatoes, drained

2 t Italian spices 2 t salt 4 cloves garlic, minced

2 bottles pasta sauce 1 T parsley flakes 2 onions, chopped

20 oz shredded cheddar cheese 1 t crushed red pepper 2 C shredded parmesan

Aluminum pan 10 x 6 x 2 3/4 8 oz cream cheese

Mix 1 bottle sauce with diced tomatoes, mix some water with sauce and add. Mix 1 bottle sauce with parmesan cheese, mix some water with sauce and add. Use noodles that cook in casserole, or if using regular noodles cook per directions. In pan heat olive oil. Add sausage, hamburger, salt, pepper and italian spices. Remove meat then sauté onions and garlic in fat. Add meat back in; stir in diced tomato/sauce mixture; simmer 20 minutes. Spread thin layer of meat mixture on bottom of pan then put layer of 3 lasagna noodles, meat, cheddar and dabs of cream cheese. Repeat. For last layer use 5 noodles and parmesan/sauce mixture. Cover with Cut rite and aluminum foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, uncover and cook another 15 minutes or until bubbly. If not going to bake right away, cover with wax paper and foil, then when about to cook,uncover add sauce/parmesan mixture, cover with wax paper foil and cook at 375 for 30 minutes then uncover and cook for 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

A few key items. One of course is the sauce. When layering make sure sauce coveres evenly and from side to side and end to end completely. Second would be the ricotta mix. I use ricotta, parm, and mozz, and salt and pepper, but also add a couple of eggs as a binder. Helps keep it from spreading to much or running off edges. 3rd. i cook my lasagna in a baking sheet with about a 1/2 inch of water in the baking pan to prevent just cooking with dry heat. 4th Cover with foil , until the last 30 minutes, then uncover to brown cheese layer on top. Also, you mentioned chewy...did you by chance use the no-boil lasagna noodles? If so try boiling your noodles before hand to desired doness. hope this helps.

If it was chewy, your lasagna noodles should have been cooked for a longer period of time. If you used no-boil lasagna noodles, the lasagna needed to be cooked longer and probably needed more sauce. No-boil noodles absorb sauce do need more sauce to cook properly.

If it was dry, you would have to use more sauce in your layers.

Always be sure you have extra sauce so you can serve some on the side. Some people like their lasagna really saucy and some don't.

It probably came out dry because you didn't use enough sauce. Don't skimp on the sauce. You need a good amount of sauce which is suppose to go on top of the pasta then followed by the cheeses. Also, maybe you had the temperature too high.

I use 3-4 quarts of sauce on a 9x13x3 inch pan. Cover every layer with sauce very well, including the bottom. Bake 45-50 mins, 400F.

Ingredients

ground beef

diced tomatoes, undrained

eggs, lightly beaten

ricotta cheese

marinara sauce

no-cook lasagna noodles

shredded part-s

while baking, keep aluminum foil over the lasagna

also, I use fresh baby spinach, italian sausage and

ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese

put some fresh chopped tomatoes in it and fresh basil

How about sauce..