Spinach Loaded Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna last night, but wanted to make it as healthy as possible. My family really enjoyed it. Dan said it had a little too much spinach in it, so next time I might cut out about 1/3 of it. However, my 10 month old, Audrey, wolfed it down, and I knew she was getting her veggies, so that made me feel good. Hopefully she'll continue to enjoy her spinach as she gets older and learns to talk back. :)

Ingredients:

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef (I used beef, which is a rare occurence for us)
1 16 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 16 oz bag frozen spinach
1 and a half jars of marinara sauce
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 head of garlic, chopped (I chopped it up in a mini food processor)
2/3 of a small yellow onion
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef, drain the grease, and set the beef aside in a bowl. Using the same skillet (just to make less mess), saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the ground beef back in with the onion and garlic, and pour one jar of marinara sauce in with it. Simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, and spinach. Mix until well blended. Set aside.

Grease a 9x13 inch glass dish (I use spray canola oil). Pour about 1/3 of the marinara/ground beef mixture on the bottom of the glass dish, and spread it out in a thin layer.

Place three lasagna noodles on top of the marinara mixture (not overlapping). Scoop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, and spread it into a thin layer. Top with 1/3 of the ground beef mixture, and spread thin. Top with three more noodles, the rest of the ricotta, and another layer of marinara/beef.

Add the three final noodles on top, pour the 1/2 jar of marinara sauce over the noodles and spread it to completely cover the dish, and sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

Loosely cover the dish with foil (don't set it too close to the cheese or it will stick).

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. When you pull it out of the oven at the end of 50 minutes, let it sit and cool for about 15 minutes.


Enjoy with a salad and some garlic bread. :)