Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Lasagna was not a dish commonly made while I was growing up.  It takes a bit of prep work so it isn't exactly ideal if you want dinner on the table in under an hour.  That being said, I made it on a weeknight and it was perfectly doable.  Lasagna is a good dish to have in your repertoire because it is generally well liked; it stores, transports, and reheats well; and it is easily modified to suit anyones tastes.  I made a vegetarian lasagna with spinach and mushrooms but you could easily interchange these for other vegetables or Italian sausage if you prefer a bit more meat.  You could even make a cheese sauce and leave out the tomato sauce.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to lasagna.

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

• 1 box of lasagna noodles
• 2 cups of spinach, washed and roughly chopped
• 8  oz. shredded mozzarella
• 12 oz. ricotta
• 2 tbsp. grated parmesan

Sauce

• 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
• 2 celery stalk, chopped into small pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound of mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

To prepare the sauce,  heat oil in a sauce medium sauce pan.  Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until the onions begin to soften.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes, wine, basil, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

In the meantime,  prepare the noodles according to package instructions.  Coat the bottom of a 9 by 13 pan with a thin layer of sauce.  Place the first layer of noodles, then a layer of sauce, then a handful of spinach, then the mozzarella and ricotta cheese.  Repeat until all ingredients are used.  The top layer should just be a layer of noodles, then sauce, then mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

- Sophie