Brown Italian sausage.
In a separate pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Mix browned sausage and the onion, garlic, and olive oil mixture together in large pan. Stir in tomatoes, and water. Season with brown sugar, basil, fennel, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley.
Simmer covered for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook noodles. Mix cottage cheese or ricotta, egg, salt, parsley, and nutmeg in separate bowl. Preheat oven to 325°F.
To assemble, pour a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Then put a layer of noodles over meat sauce. Now spread a thin layer of the cottage or ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles.
Next, sprinkle a layer of mozzarella and cheddar cheese over that. Add another layer of meat sauce over mozzarella and cheddar. Now sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese over that. Repeat this assembly process one more time. Lastly sprinkle with parsley.
Cover with foil. To keep foil from sticking, spray with cooking spray. Bake covered for 60 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Submitted by: Steve
