Lasagna

This is not diet friendly so beware. I love pasta and all things pasta. This recipe is pretty basic, but I put all of my favorite things into it!

To perform this task successfully:
1 medium skillet
1 spatula
1 large pot
1 large baking dish
1 medium mixing bowl
1 spoon to mix stuff in the mixing bowl

For middle #1:
1 lb. ground pork sausage (I recommend spicy italian sausage...anyone notice the price of pork go up? wtf)
1 can tomato sauce (I just use hunts)
1 package mushrooms (you can use canned if you want, but my personal favorite are fresh baby bellas)
1 clove garlic diced
ground black pepper

For middle #2:
1 package (approx. 1.5 cups) frozen spinach
15 oz. (one small container) ricotta cheese
15 oz. cottage cheese
7 0z. (one package) shredded mozzarella
2 eggs
ground black pepper

STEPS:
1. Fill your large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for about 10 minutes until they are no longer stiff. Make sure not to overcook because they will get another chance to cook some more in the oven.

2. Strain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

3. Prep your meat sauce by adding the ground pork to the medium skillet. Brown the meat, reduce the heat and add the mushrooms. If you are using canned mushrooms you can add the tomato sauce right away, if you are using fresh mushrooms I would let them cook down a little until they become soft and darker in color.

4. Add the tomato sauce, garlic, and black pepper. Warm through. If you like a little extra spice add a few red pepper flakes to the sauce.

5. Defrost spinach. An easy way to do this is to set the block in warm water. Squeeze out any extra water either with your hands or use a salad spinner.

6. For the cheese mixture simply combine all ingredients (leave about a cup of mozzarella out for the top) in your medium mixing bowl and add spinach.

7. Now that you have all of the lasagna elements spead a little red sauce in the bottom (this prevents sticking) or you can use a non-stick spray. Add a single layer of lasagna noodles (about 3) so that it covers the red sauce. Add more red sauce, another layer of noodles, a layer of the cheese mixutre and repeat until the pan is full.

8. Heat up your oven to 375 degrees. Cover the top of the lasagna pan with tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes. You may want to put a cookie sheet under the lasagna pan just incase it bakes over (saves you some clean up if there's a spill). Check after the 30 minutes for doneness. You want to make sure the cheese is melty and the edges are browning. All ovens are different, so if you feel it needs a little more time leave it in.

9. Remove the tin foil and top with remaining shredded mozzarella chesse.

10. Return uncovered pan to oven for about 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

Once the lasagna is done take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!

-BananaWoo