1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage (5 links)
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. chopped parsley
4 c. canned tomatoes (not drained) or 1 (2 lb. 3 oz.) can Italian style tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 tbsp. salt
12 curly lasagna noodles
1 (15 oz.) container Ricotta or cottage cheese, drained
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 lb. Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1 (3 oz.) jar grated Parmesan cheese (3/4 c.)

1. Remove sausage meat from outer casings; chop the meat. In 5 quart Dutch oven, over medium heat, saute sausage, beef, onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until well browned, 20 minutes.

2. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, the basil, fennel, pepper and half the parsley; mix well. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and 1/2 cup water; mashing tomatoes with wooden spoon. Bring to boiling, reduce heat; simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until thick, 1 1/2 hours.

3. In 8 quart kettle, bring 3 quarts of water with a tablespoon of salt to a boil. Add lasagna, boil uncovered, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Dry lasagna on paper towels.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, parsley and salt; mix.

5. In bottom of baking dish, spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce. Layer with six noodles, lengthwise and overlapping, to cover. Spread with 1/2 of ricotta mixture; top with 1/3 cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering, starting with noodles and ending with sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Spread with remaining sauce, top with rest of cheese and Parmesan cheese. Cover with oil.

6. Bake 25 minutes, remove foil; bake, uncovered 25 minutes longer or until bubbly. Cool 15 minutes before serving.