Best Lasagna Ever

Don't worry, vegetarian friends, I'll share some of my favorite vegetarian lasagnas another time (or you could just use TVP or frozen veggie crumbles in place of the ground meat).  Today's adventure is about my mega cheap lasagna, that my 6 year old dubbed and my husband and I agreed is the best lasagna ever! My husband thinks that the venison is part of what made it so fantastic, but even with some other meat, it should still be pretty darn awesome.

I got the milk I used to make the ricotta and the mozzarella for free, made my tomato sauce from garden tomatoes last fall (herbs also mostly garden), and used venison my husband got last fall for the ground meat, so I only paid about $2 for this entire lasagna, but even if I had to pay for the dairy, it would still only cost about $5 to make.  Can you even buy a piece of lasagna at a restaurant for that little?   I was hoping to get two meals for the family out of it, but there wasn't enough left over.  Oh, well.  Maybe next time, I'll have some homegrown salad to pair with it so there'll be more left!

Meat Lasagna

1 lb ground meat
1 onion, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 cups plain tomato sauce
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 tbsp fresh parsley
2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
1/4-1/2 cup cheddar (optional)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Brown the meat and cook with onions until no pink remains.  Add basil, oregano, garlic, and tomato sauce and let simmer while the noodles cook.  Cook the noodles according to package directions.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, and 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella.  In an ungreased 9x13 baking dish, spoon some of the meat and tomato sauce mixture, enough to barely cover the bottom.  Layer 3 cooked noodles, half the cheese mixture, 1/3 of the remaining meat mixture, 3 more noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, half of the remaining meat mixture, the last 3 noodles, and the remaining meat mixture.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella, the cheddar, and the Parmesan over the top.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.