BASIC SPAGHETTI SAUCE:

1 lg. can tomato puree
1 lg. can Redpack tomatoes, packed in puree
3 sm. cans tomato sauce
1 lg. can tomato paste
1 sm. can sliced or stems and pieces mushrooms
1-2 onions, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic (about 1 tsp. chopped garlic from a jar)
1 lb. chopped beef
1 to 1 1/2 lb. Italian sweet sausage
Generous slosh of red wine
Generous sprinkling of Parmesan or Romano cheese
Oregano and basil (sprinkling of each)

Cut sausage into chunk-sized slices and brown in skillet. Drain on paper towels when done. Meanwhile, brown chopped beef in a large (4-6 quart) saucepan. Drain off excess liquid, then add onion and garlic and brown for 1-2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients including sausage, bring just to a boil over medium heat, and cook for 3-4 hours.

LASAGNA:

Modified spaghetti sauce
Meatballs
2 lb. ricotta cheese
1 lb. Mozzarella
1 lb. box lasagna
About 3 tbsp. parsley

MODIFIED SPAGHETTI SAUCE: Eliminate meat entirely or, for flavor, use a little chopped meat and/or a little sausage, cut into small pieces. (If you use meat--it still has to be browned and drained.)

MEATBALLS: Mix 1 pound chopped meat, 1-2 eggs, a dollop of milk, bread crumbs (I don't know how much!), parsley, oregano, basil, a little Parmesan cheese. Form into meatballs, brown, drain and set aside. When they're cool enough to handle, crumble them up.

OTHER JUNK: Mix the ricotta cheese with 2 eggs and generous slop of parsley. Shred the Mozzarella (or buy it already shredded--but it's lot's more expensive that way.)

Cook the lasagna according to package directions, making sure to add salt and a slop of oil. (BETTER WAY--bring the water to a boil, add the lasagna, bring to a boil again and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Then take off the heat, put a towel over the pot (being careful not to touch the hot burner with the towel--it catches fire--this is experience talking!), put the cover back on the pot, over the towel, and let it sit for the amount of cooking time stated on the box. If you do it this way, the lasagna almost never sticks together.)

Now you're ready! (One note about this last part--it takes, on average, about twice as long to do as you estimated it would, so be sure to allow enough time.) Into a lasagna pan, put a layer of sauce, a layer of lasagna, a layer of spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture (slop it all around), a layer of crumbled meatballs, a layer of shredded Mozzarella... a layer of sauce, a layer of lasagna, etc. The very top layer is just sauce, lasagna, Mozzarella, sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (put a piece of aluminum foil under the pan--it tends to bubble all over the oven!).