• I like to use no boil lasagna noodles. You can use regular lasagna noodles, just cook them according to the package instructions. I like the taste and texture of the no boil noodles, but the biggest advantage is that you omit one very annoying step - boiling the noodles, fishing them out, cooling them, etc.
• Even though the package says that you can just use the noodles straight from the package, I like to soak them in hot water. I've tried it both ways and soaking them in hot water softens them up a bit and they cook up better. Pour in hot water (not boiling) into the same baking dish you will be using for the lasagna and submerge the lasagna noodles in the water.

Tomato Meat Sauce:

• Heat about ½ a Tablespoon olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add the ground meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
• Cook until the meat has lost most of its pinkness, and you have nice brown bits throughout. If your meat exudes a lot of grease, drain most of it off, leaving just enough to cook the onions.
• Add the onion and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the onion has softened. Break the meat chunks apart, which will help the sauce to have an even consistency. A great trick for doing this is to use a potato masher.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and garlic, season with salt, ground black pepper and Italian seasoning and cook, covered, at a simmer for about 5 more minutes.
• Add the heavy cream and fresh herbs. I add a touch of cream to almost all my tomato sauces. It gives it a nice velvetiness. The fresh herbs are a must. I absolutely love the way they elevate the sauce it give it so much freshness and flavor.

Cheese Filling:

• While the sauce is cooking, stir together all the ingredients for the cheese filling.

Assembling the Lasagna:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Drain the noodles on a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
• Scoop out about ¾ cup of the Tomato Meat sauce and spread it out on the bottom of a 13x 9 inch baking dish.
• Top with the lasagna noodles.
• Spread out about 2 heaping Tablespoons of the cheese filling on top of each noodle.
• Top with another ¾ cup of Tomato Meat Sauce and repeat with the rest of the layers, ending with a layer of noodles. You will have 5 layers of noodles total. (If you're using the same pasta as I am, you will use the whole box.)

Cheese Sauce:

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the shallot or onion. Season with salt and cook until tender. (If you're using an onion instead of a shallot, you aside a small portion of onion when you're chopping it for the Tomato Meat Sauce and use it here, since you only need a small amount.)
• Add the flour and mix until it's completely incorporated into the butter, and cook for about a minute.
• Whisk in the milk and chicken broth. You can use just milk in the sauce, but adding part chicken broth will give it more depth of flavor.
• Add the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cook at a simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Fish out the bay leaf.
• Take the cheese sauce off the heat and stir in the grated cheeses.
• Pour the cheese sauce over the last Lasagna layer and smooth it out.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 40 minutes, until it bubbles around the edges.
• Take off the aluminum foil and broil for a few minutes until the cheese is golden, if you'd like.

To Freeze:

• Cool the Lasagna to room temperature. Wrap it in several layers or aluminum foil and plastic wrap and freeze.
• - To cook: Thaw the lasagna overnight and bake, just as you would if you made it that same day. Pretty neat, huh?