Classic Lasagna

I have a confession to make. Although I love cooking and I enjoy an good lasagna I have not even attemped to make one in the past 4 years. I know, pretty sad. The reason? The last time I made an attempt, it was less than mediocre. So not worth the effort. Well, I decided to give it another try after finding this recipe on Annies-Eats. It was great! Aaron and I both loved it! The flavor and the consistency was what I had imagined it would be. It did require some time to put it all together, but it was definately worth it. Plus it makes a bunch, so I'll be whipping out the leftovers out in a few days for a yummy meal with no work. Try it out, you'll be glad you did.


Classic Lasagna
from http://www.annies-eats.com/

Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1 lb. italian sausage
2/3 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, divided
3 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
15 oz. tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
* I only used about a quarter of that
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs
2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. Drain and set aside. (I like to lay our the noodles so that they are flat and separated, to avoid them sticking to each other or curling up. It makes the assembly process easier.)

In the meantime, in a very large skillet or saucepan(12-14 inches), crumble the Italian sausage and cook over medium-high heat until it just begins to brown. Add the onion, garlic and 1/3 cup of the parsley to the pan and continue cooking until the sausage is completely browned and cooked through. Mix in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, basil and oregano. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce teh heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining parsley, ricotta, spinach, parmesan, eggs, garlic salt, and pepper. Mix well until blended.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 2 cups of sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of a 9 X 13 " baking dish. Layer with 4 lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with half of the cheese-spinach mixture and spread evenly to a thin layer. Top with about a third of of the remaining sauce mixture, and sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Layer again with 4 more noodles and the remaining cheese-spinach mixture. Spread half of the remaining sauce mixture over the top, and sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella. The final layer will be 4 noodles, the remaining sauce, and a layer of shredded mozzarella. Cover tighltly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and return the oven for 10 minutes more. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.