Lasagna Classic

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

12-ounce can tomato paste
28-ounce can whole tomatoes

1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 bay leaf

15 lasagna noodles of the kind that you boil--basically a pound.

2 eggs
pound of small curd cottage cheese with nothing else in it especially not pineapple
pound of mozzarella, diced

Sauce Steps

Prep all the ingredients as listed above.

Open the can of tomatoes and use a knife to gently slice the tomatoes while they're still in the can

In a dutch oven, cook beef, onion, and garlic over high heat until juices evaporate and beef is brown.  Stir a lot while it cooks.

Add the tomato paste and stir until the paste turns a bit darker red.

Add tomatoes with their juices and the six seasonings

Heat to boiling, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, uncover and remove bay leaf.

Noodle, Cheese, and Egg Steps (You Can Start 10 Minutes Before Sauce is Done)
Cook noodles by directions on the package.

Beat the two eggs together, add the cottage cheese, and beat some more.

Grate or dice the mozzarella if you didn't already.

Assembly and Baking
Preheat oven to 375.

In 9 x 13 baking dish, arrange 1/3 of the noodles, overlapping to fit.

In order, top with 1/3 of the cottage cheese/egg mixture, 1/3 of the mozzarella, and 1/3 of the sauce.

Repeat twice.  Each time, when you've added the noodles, push down on them gently to get the layers below to spread more evenly.

Bake 45 minutes.  You will probably want to put a cookie sheet on the shelf below in case there's a bit of boiling over at the end.

Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.