Beef Lasagna

Super easy to make and incredibly filling and delicious! I made this the other night and hubby gobbled it up . . . Although I must admit, I had already had some wine while this was cooking and after eating I passed out on the couch due to a food coma. Hah. It's that good.

Beef Lasagna

• lasagna noodles, I used TJ's brand but only needed 1/2 the 16 ounce package
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese, I used low fat
• 1 egg
• few handfuls of spinach, finely chopped
• mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
• tomato sauce! I used garlic & herb sauce (16.5 ounce jar)
• small can diced tomatoes in sauce
• shredded carrots
• sliced zucchini or other squash
• 1 lb. ground beef
• clove of garlic, grated
• salt + pepper to taste

First off, preheat your oven to 350F and grate your garlic into the pan with a pat of butter and brown the beef with a dash of salt and pepper. While that is cooking, add your ricotta cheese, egg, spinach, salt and pepper, and a teeny dash of nutmeg if you'd like. Stir to combine the ingredients and your cheese is ready to go. 

When the beef is cooked through and nicely browned move the pan off the heat and let cool off a bit. While it's cooling, combine your jar of sauce with the canned tomatoes in sauce. This will help bulk up the amount of sauce you have for cheap while also getting those nice chunks of tomato into the dish. Grab a baking dish and smear a very small amount of sauce along the bottom of it. Put down one layer of your noodles and apply a thin layer of your ricotta cheese mixture on top of that and sprinkle with a bit of mozzarella over the cracks! Apply a sprinkle of your carrots and then arrange your zucchini. After that I added my browned beef. Next up is the sauce, which will create a nice sticky surface for your next layer of pasta. I did three layers of the meat and vegetables, I topped the last layer with mozzarella and shredded Parmesan cheese to get multiple flavors. Bake at 350 degree for 50 minutes with a foil tent. Remove foil tent and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.