made by Rachel
5 oz fresh spinach, chopped
16 oz ricotta
8-10 meatballs, chopped up or smashed with a potato masher
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Marinara or meat sauce - 1 cup for filling, approx 4 cups sauce for assembly
1 egg
1 box lasagna noodles (if you want you can make your own!)
Fresh or shredded mozzarella (I use both, shredded for the layers and fresh on top. You will need about one bag of shredded, or one square hand shredded, and one baseball size ball of fresh)
Fresh or dried basil (for sprinkling on top)
Fresh or dried oregano (for sprinkling on top)
S&P
Directions:
Start a large pot of water boiling. Add about a tablespoon of salt and a splash of olive oil.
In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, meatballs, Italian seasoning, 1 cup of the sauce and egg. Mix well so the eggs are spread evenly throughout the mixture. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
Now assemble your lasagna:
Spread a 1/2 cup of your sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Layer three noodles across horizontally. Depending on your dish, you might need to cut an extra noodle for the side so the dish is covered in a single layer of noodles.
Spread a thin layer of your spinach/meatball/ricotta mixture across the noodles, use a spatula or your fingers to spread the filling out evenly. Sprinkle a thin layer of shredded mozzarella on top of the filling (meat/spinach/ricotta).
Drizzle a layer of sauce on top of the cheese, using a spatula to spread, if needed.
Layer another 3-4 noodles, filling, cheese, and sauce, and another one....until you run out of room in the dish. The top layer should be noodle, then sauce, then fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with basil, oregano and pepper.
Enjoy!