This is a simple assembly of four components:
ASSEMBLE:  the sauce, the pasta, the ricotta cheese and the mozzarella
get a solid baking pan around 13 x 9 inches

The Pasta:
1 pound lasagna noodles
cook in salted water till firm.  Remove from water, drain, cool in cold water,
lay on towels to dry and separate.

The Sauce:
Two large (16 oz) can tomatoes, make a marinara or meat sauce (see recipe which follows)

Ricotta cheese mixture:
one pint of ricotta, an egg, grated cheese, nutmeg,, salt, pepper, oregano, chopped fresh parsley

Mozzarella Cheese:
The fresher the better.  use a pound, and slice it.
You can also use some of the cheese inside the pie as a layer.

If you make your own pasta, which I don’t recommend, make a three egg batch of pasta, use 2 ½ cups of flour: salt, flour, olive oil, eggs, and make the sheets which you boil and set aside in chilled water until ready to assemble,

ASSEMBLY:
oil the bottom of the pan, and coat the bottom with some sauce, then a layer of pasta, then some sauce, sprinkle with a little grated cheese, more pasta, ricotta cheese, pasta, more sauce, cheese, etc, and top all with slices of mozzarella cheese and dot with sauce.   The beauty of this is that the layers be somewhat distinct, and that you can taste each layer.
NOTE: save some sauce for serving.

bake at 250o 50 minutes, and lay a tray under to catch drippings,  it should be done when the bubbles just come up from the center.  should make six decent portions
NOTE:  some people like to make a foil "tent" with vents slits over the pasta and bake at 300o
      (*remove tent and allow to bake uncovered for the final ten minutes)
NOTE:  don’t cut it till it has had a chance to rest, or it falls apart.
NOTE:  reheat in a different tray than the one you baked it in so your clean up is easier

variations, eggplant sliced a quarter inch thick, breaded and fried, or just baked in a pan of water and some oil.  Till soft enough to lay into the lasagna sheet.
 

and now the sauce:
Print this separately, I wish I knew how to insert a page break

MARINARA SAUCE - WITH MEAT

The ingredients:

an italian style pork sausage, peeled,
¾ pound ground beef or pork
four skinned chicken thighs or drumsticks
a medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
half a head of garlic, peeled and chopped
huge pinch oregano, crushed
three whole bay leaves
oil
white wine one glass
water
2 cans of crushed tomatoes, or whole and in puree, chopped coarsely
(you can also buy crushed but when you can have pieces in the sauce the effect is better than a fine puree.  You know I love texture.
1 can tomato paste
salt - big pinch, kosher
black pepper, ground, generous
red pepper flakes, 1/3 - ½ tsp. chopped finely
sugar
herbs of Provençe, (optional)

peel the sausage, chop coarsely, skin the chicken, place in a pan with oil and fry -  add the red pepper flakes, then the garlic, onions, the wine, and let teh wone cook til the alcohol evaporates.

Add the chopped tomatoes, rinse the can with water, add the water to the pot, and everything else. Bring to the boil, lower the flame to a simmer, cook till chicken thighs are done.  Remove thighs, and bay leaves.

NOTES:  lots of oil makes the sauce texture and flavor better.  Water added at the start will evaporate and allow the flavors to emerge.  Use a full cup when you begin cooking, don’t worry about having too thin a sauce.   If it gets too thick while cooking, add a little more water and continue to cook.  The sauce is done when it tastes right, and when the oil comes up to the surface.

If there are tomato chunks you can puree some of the sauce, but I rarely do that.

remember the main ingredient is L O V E
michael