Caitlyn's Lasagna

Lasagna

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spaghetti Sauce
No-boil lasagna noodles (Barilla)
Ricotta cheese (16 oz. container)---low fat ok but full fat richer
Part-Skim Mozzarella (8 oz., about 3 cups grated)--or shredded gouda and jarlsberg, see note below
Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup, plus more for top of lasagna)
1 egg
Frozen chopped spinach (2 boxes), thawed and squeezed dry
1/8-1/4 t. Nutmeg
Pepper

Combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, nutmeg, pepper, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, and egg. Then I follow the assembly directions on the back of the pasta box! 1 cup sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture ( I just try to divide it up into three or four portions), 1 cup mozzarella, and repeat. I end with a layer of sauce, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on the top. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for about 50 minutes, and then another 5 to 10 to let the cheese brown.

I discovered that full fat ricotta cheese tastes better (kind of goes without saying), so I just go a little light on the mozzarella to make up for it. A 9x13 pan or something a bit smaller is fine too. Depending on the depth of the pan, you will either get 3 or 4 layers, keeping in mind the noodles will expand.

Note: January 2014, I just made this lasagna and as I was assembling it I realized I was out of shredded mozzarella. I quickly grated up the cheeses that I did have, which were gouda and jarlsberg and used that instead. I also doubled the spinach and used low fat ricotta. The result was spectacular!!

Easy Spaghetti Sauce

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 T. dried basil
¼ t. dried oregano
1 (big) can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 medium can diced tomatoes
1 small can chopped mushrooms (optional)
olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent, a bit of browning is ok. I add a little bit of salt, depending on whether the tomatoes are low-sodium or not. Add the herbs and a bit of ground pepper, or a pinch of crushed red pepper if you want a bit of spiciness. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and mushrooms, if using. Stir all ingredients together, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for an hour or 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If you have access to fresh herbs, a little tarragon is nice in this. This recipe has a lot of tomato paste, but it helps give it a more concentrated flavor, like it was on the stove all day.

This will make enough for lasagna, with some left over pasta or whatever.