Red and White Lasagna

I have been making this for a few years for our famous VD Party (it stands for Valentine's Day), and people seem to like it.  It does require some time, and a little effort, but it is so worth it!

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp dried oregano flakes 
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1.5 tsp tarragon
• 32 oz. tomato juice
• 2 cans tomato sauce (i think 8 oz?)
• 2 cans tomato paste
• 2 sticks of butter (has to be butter, not margarine)
• 1 qt. heavy cream
• 12 oz. grated parmasean cheese (maybe more, depending on taste and thickness desired)
• 1 tsp chopped parsley (optional)
• 1 tiny pinch nutmeg (optional)
• lasagna noodles
• provolone cheese
• mozzarella cheese
• ricotta cheese (optional, I don't use it)

Directions:

First we make the meat sauce.  This is the most time consuming part.

1. Add the olive oil to a BIG sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Once the pan is hot, add the garlic and let it cook for 1-2 minutes.  Watch it to make sure it doesn't start top burn or scorch.
3. Add the chopped onion and salt.  Cook until the onion is transparent.
4. Add the ground sirloin.  Super Secret Tip Time: Use a potato masher on the meat while it's browning.  It will give you a very nice fine texture.  I ALWAYS do this when making something like meat sauce, tacos, chili, etc.
5. Once the meat is brown, add the oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and tarragon.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, continuing to stir.
6. Add the tomato juice, sauce, and paste.  Stir very well to combine.
7. Bring this big ol' pot of goodness to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer.  It needs to simmer for at least an hour.  Two hours would be better.

Now, my Alfredo Sauce recipe:

1. Melt the two sticks of butter over medium low heat, careful not to let it turn brown.
2. After it's melted and starts to bubble a bit, slowly add the heavy cream, a little at a time.  
3. Stir in the Parmesan in small increments. The most important thing when making this sauce is, keep the heat between low and medium low, and KEEP STIRRING THE WHOLE TIME!
4. After several minutes, the sauce will start to get nice and thick.  You can add the parsley and nutmeg now if you are using it. 
5. It's ready!

Ok, time to build the lasgana!

1. Start with a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan.  
2. How you layer it is up to you.  Alternate sauce, noodles, cheese.  Over and over.  All sauce layers are meat sauce except one Alfredo layer in the middle.  
3. Very important tip:  With all the sauce in the lasagna, it will start to bubble up to the top of your pan.  DO NOT BUILD YOUR LASAGNA ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP OF THE PAN!  It will boil over and cause your home's smoke alarms to go off.  Don't ask me how I know this. :)

After you build your lasagna, put it in the oven on 350ºF for about 30 minutes, or until it's all melty and delicious.  Serve with some extra Alfredo sauce on top!

This is a great dish that would probably kill you within a year if you ate it on a weekly basis, but it is perfect for a special occasion!