Lasagna with Beef and Spinach

I’ve always assumed making lasagna was difficult, so I never thought to make it myself. Man, was I wrong! There are a lot of steps, but none of them are too difficult to follow for the average cook, like myself.

For a lasagna novice, finding a recipe can be a challenge. There are just so many to choose from! My boyfriend’s mom, Peggy, makes an amazing lasagna, so I couldn’t think of a better recipe to start with. I made a couple changes by using fresh herbs where I could, but followed Peggy’s recipe almost entirely.

Cooking Time – 2 hours (includes prep, cooking and cool down)

Level of Difficulty – Medium (lots of steps/layering involved)

Ingredients –

1 pound extra/lean ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large can of diced tomatoes

2 cans of tomato paste

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

½ bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon of dried oregano 

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1 package fresh lasagna noodles (I cross the line at having to boil noodles, but go for it if you don’t mind the extra step)

1 750ml container of cottage cheese (low fat)

½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1 pound of mozzarella cheese, shredded (low fat)

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained of water

Directions –

Meat Mixture:

1)    Brown ground beef

2)    While cooking, throw in chopped onions

3)    Once beef is cooked, drain the fat

4)    Throw in garlic, parsley (keep some for cottage cheese mixture), oregano, basil, salt and pepper

5)    Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste

6)    Turn down heat and simmer uncovered for 30 mins

**While meat mixture is simmering, make the cottage cheese mixture

Cottage Cheese Mixture:

7)    Pour cottage cheese into mixing bowl

8)    Beat eggs in separate bowl and mix into cheese

9)    Add a little salt, pepper and remaining parsley

10) Add in Parmesan cheese and stir well

Layering:

11) Spray pan with Pam to ease cleaning later

12)  First Layer: Cover bottom of pan with one layer of noodles (trim noodles to fit if necessary)

13) Second Layer: Spread half of cottage cheese mixture across the noodles

14) Third Layer: Spread half of shredded mozzarella cheese on top

15) Fourth Layer: Spread half of meat mixture on top

16) Fifth Layer: Cover with entire package of spinach

17) Repeat layers: noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, meat mixture

18) If you have mozzarella cheese left over, sprinkle lightly on top

19) Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

20) Let cool for 10 minutes and serve

- Jess