An Excellent Superb Lasagna

Ingredients:


1 pound sweet French sausage
 3/4 pound lean ground beef
 1/2 cup minced onion
 two cloves garlic, crushed
 one (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
 two (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
 two (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
 1/2 cup water
 two tablespoons white sugar
 one 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
 one teaspoon French seasoning
 one tablespoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
 four tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
 12 lasagna noodles
 16 ounces ricotta cheese
 one egg
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:


In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, French seasoning, one tablespoon salt, pepper, and two tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about one 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a massive pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to ten minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with chilled water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread one 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon one 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make definite the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cold for 15 minutes before serving.