Over the years, I have become practiced at the art of lasagna. I'm essentially quite a lazy cook, and have perfected the recipe down to the bare minimum of work. This easy recipe has proven a favorite and it's easily adaptable to your personal tastes. For example, drop the mushrooms and add artichoke hearts, spinach or zucchini slices. Or swap the sausage for hamburger, ground turkey or even slices of prosciutto. This recipe is for straight up sausage and mushroom lasagna.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. reduced-fat ground pork sausage
1 small onion
3 eggs
2 cups sliced mushrooms
15 oz. lowfat ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1-1/2 jar Classico spaghetti sauce (I use 4 cheese variety)
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F. Begin by browning sausage thoroughly. Drain fat and remove sausage to separate bowl. In same pan, sauté onions, and mushrooms until soft. Remove and add to sausage to make filling. In the meantime, mix together ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, chopped parsley and beaten eggs to make cheese filling. Add chopped parsley to cheese mixture for a little extra color.

Begin by covering the bottom of lasagna dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Layer 3 dry, uncooked noodles lengthwise in the dish. Next layer 1/3 of the cheese, and 1/2 of the meat & sausage mixture on top. Add three more noodles and cover completely with sauce, 1/3 of cheese, and remaining meat mixture. Make one more layer of noodles, sauce, and then remaining cheese mixture. Finally add three more noodles and cover completely with remaining sauce. Sprinkle reserved 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese on top. Cover with foil.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove foil covering and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Yum, yum, yummy! Serves at least 8.

Note: I mentioned this was easy... don't worry about the uncooked noodles and premade tomato sauce.... no one will know the difference except for you. The noodles will cook completely - and it's not necessary to buy the special "no-boil" variety - any type of lasagna noodle will work, I promise!