made by Rachel
Do you ever make a huge batch of meatballs and have them waiting for a recipe in your freezer? Well, I feel like I always have meatballs in my freezer, so I made this lasagna recipe up to use some. You could sub meatballs for plain old cooked ground beef, but I think this bulks up the flavor and consistency of a meat lasagna - try it out and let me know what you think!
What you will need:
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.
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.
Add your noodles to the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes - you want the noodles al dente so your lasagna is not mushy. After 8 minutes take a noodle out and test it...it should be firm but not hard. Pour your noodles over a colander to strain the water.
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.
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.
Bake at 350F for an hour, or until the cheese on top is starting to bubble and turn golden.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
