Denise's Meat & Cheese Lover's Lasagna

Step 1: In a large skillet or dutch oven, combine ground round and italian sausage and begin to brown over medium high heat. As the meats are browning, add the yellow onion, green pepper, salt, basil, oregano, bay leaf, onion powder, black pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley and garlic; continue to brown. You want to get a nice crust on the meats, it adds so much more flavor to the sauce.

Step 2: Once you have nice browning on your meats, add the red wine. Stir well and let simmer 3-4 minutes to burn off a bit of the alcohol.

Step 3: Add tomato sauce, tomao puree and tomato paste. Stir well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes to two hours.

Step 4: While sauce is simmering, cook lasagna noodles in a very large pot of water that has been seasoned with one tablespoon salt. Do not completely cook the noodles, they need to be a bit less than al dente or "chewy". Drain in a large colander, run under cool water and rinse.

Step 5: To assemble - Place about a ladle full of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles, cover with meat sauce and sprinkle with a cup of mozzarella cheese and about 1/4 cup parmesan. Repeat this layer and add 1/2 cup cheddar.

Step 6: For the third layer, place four lasagna noodles, completely cover with the ricotta cheese and top with the six slices of provolone. For the final layer - four lasagna noodles, cover with meat sauce, top with the remaining cheeses.

Step 7: Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.