Lovin' That #Lasagna

Hey Everyone!

With winter in full swing, I thought it was time for some stick-to-your-ribs recipes. So, today, I'm sharing my lasagna recipe. I hope you like it! :-)

Ingredients:
1 2 lb container of ricotta cheese
3 lbs mozzarella cheese shredded
1 egg
1 lb spinach uncooked
15 cloves garlic minced
2 cups oregano chopped (or 1/2 cup dried)
1 cup parsley chopped (or 1/4 cup dried)
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp red pepper flakes or 1 chili pepper chopped (optional)
1 9oz box lasagna noodles
4 cups tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the lasagna noodles in salted boiling water until nearly done. Drain the pasta and place in a bowl of cold water.  In spoon 2 tbs tomato sauce into a 9x13 baking dish and spread over the bottom of the dish. Pull a noodle through two fingers to remove the water, but be careful not to break it, and place it in the bottom of the baking dish. Repeat until there is a layer of cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish.

Mix all the ingredients except the noodles, spinach, tomato sauce, and 1 lb mozzarella cheese together in a bowl. Make sure the ingredients are well combined. Spread a layer of sauce over the noodles in the baking dish until all the noodles are completely covered. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture over the sauce in the baking dish until no sauce is visible. Place spinach leaves over the cheese layer until all the cheese is covered. Repeat layers until all noodles are used. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over the top of the lasagna. Cover lasagna with aluminum foil.

The assembled lasagna can be placed in the refrigerator over night or baked immediately at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Remove foil cover, run a knife around the edges of the lasagna, and return to oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for an additional 20-25 minutes or until top is browned.

You can also add pecorino ramano or parmesan cheese to both the cheese mixture and/or the top of the lasagna, if you like. Some other things I like to add sometimes are roasted slices of zuchinni, broccoli florets, and slices of cauliflower. As with other things, I prefer my lasagna without meat, but you can easily add ground beef, Italian sausage, or sliced meatballs to yours just by putting them in another layer. If you use meat, please make sure it is completely cooked before putting it in the lasagna because food poisoning sucks.  You can use any tomato sauce you like, but I'll put the link to my tomato sauce recipe below.

Buon Appetito!

Tomato Sauce Recipe