Gayle's Spaghetti and Lasagna Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Italian hot-sausage links
• 2 pounds ground beef
• ½ pound mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium size onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (if you like garlic, use 4)
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 3 28-ounce cans of tomatoes in tomato puree
• 2 6-ounce cans of tomato paste
• 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 cup black olives, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• olive oil

Instructions:

• remove sausage from casing
• cook sausage & ground beef in 8 quart pot over high heat, stirring often, until all pan juices evaporate and meat is browned
• use slotted spoon to remove meat to a bowl
• add the onions, mushrooms, garlic, green pepper to pan dripping and sauté
• return meat to the pot and add remaining ingredients except parsley
• bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low
• cover and let simmer for an hour
• stir in the parsly
• makes 8 pints of sauce
• 1 pint is enough for ½ pound of pasta

Lasagna:

• mix ½ pound grrated mozzarella cheese, 1 pound ricotta cheese, 1 or 2 eggs
• cook the lasagna noodles al dente
• fill lasagna pan with layers of meat, noodles, cheese, noodles, meat, noodle, cheese
• or: just 3 thick layers of sauce, noodles, cheese
• bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for 30-40 minutes