Deanna's Sicilian Lasagna

I got this from a coworker of mine. It takes some time, but it's totally worth it.

Sauce:

Chuck roast (or similar inexpensive roast -- NOT ground -- and NOT flank steak), approx 2 LB
Olive oil (couple tablespoons)
6 cloves garlic
4T basil (dried or fresh)
Tomato sauce -- 2 large cans
Tomato paste -- 2 small cans
1/2 C sugar
6 bay leaves
salt & pepper

Cheese:
1 tub Ricotta
1/2 C Shredded Parmesan (shredded is better than the shelf-stable grated stuff)
1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella
various spices to taste (I usually use more garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and a little marjoram)

Lasagna noodles -- I like the no-boil kind.

Get your biggest soup pot. Heat the olive oil in the bottom (it's ready when it just starts to smoke), then brown the roast about 5 min. each side, add the garlic and basil when you turn the roast over. Once it's brown, add the tomato sauce and paste, bring to a simmer and cover. A half hour later, add the sugar, bay leaves and whatever other spices you'd like. Cover and simmer for a while ... the longer the better. Like 4-6 hours. The point is to simmer this stuff until the beef falls apart.

Combine the cheeses. Layer the lasagna as usual, except that the meat's already with the sauce. You may need to break up the larger pieces of meat. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 50 minutes; uncover for a final 10 minutes.

Notes:
1. The sauce can be done in a crock pot. It comes out a little darker -- just make sure your crock pot is big enough!! I still prefer the taste of stovetop-prepared, though, and do it that way when I can.
2. Finished sauce can also be frozen for up to six months.