Heat oil in a large skillet, add onions, the ground beef or mixture of ground beef & Italian sausage and cook until meat is browned and onions are tender. Drain if necessary. Add the salt. red pepper, black pepper, and Italian seasoning and the garlic cook for another minute, stirring until mixture is fragrant.

While the meat is cooking, pour the canned diced tomatoes and their juice into a one-quart (four cup) measuring cup. Add water to bring the level up to one quart. Set aside.

Once the meat is cooked, scatter broken noodles across the top but do not stir. Pour the quart of diced tomato/water mixture and the tomato sauce over the top of the noodles. Again, do not stir. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and maintain simmer, stirring once by very gently scooping up the noodles with a spatula and turning. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasonings and stir in the shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Dot with spoonfuls of Ricotta, cover and let sit off heat for three to five minutes until cheese is warm and melty. Sprinkle with basil and serve from the pan with a little extra Parmesan.