Wine Tasting Lasagna

By ezunich

Ingredients

• 9 dried lasagna noodles
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 8 ounces lean ground beef or ground pork
• 8 ounces bulk hot Italian sausage or bulk pork sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (1 medium)
• 1 tbs minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes in puree
• 1/2 of a 6-ounce can tomato paste (1/3 cup)
• 2 tsp packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh basil.
• 1 egg
• 1 cup light ricotta cheese
• 1 cup 2% or 4% cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 of a 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
• 2 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (11 ounces)

Details

Servings 9

Preparation

Step 1

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, except omit any oil or salt; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Place noodles in a single layer on a sheet of foil; set aside. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish (3-quart rectangular) with cooking spray; set aside.

2. For meat sauce: In a 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven, cook and stir beef, sausage, onion, carrot and garlic over medium-high heat until meat is browned. Drain off
fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes in puree, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano and bay leaf Bring to boiling; reduce heat Cover; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat Remove bay leaf; discard. Stir in fresh basil. Set aside.

3. For filling: In a medium bowl combine egg, ricotta, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and pepper. Stir in spinach.

4. To assemble, spread 1/2 cup of the meat sauce evenly in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles in the dish. Spread with half of the filling. Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with half of the remaining meat sauce, spreading to evenly cover cheese. Top with 3 more noodles, remaining filling and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce.

5. Bake, covered, in a 350° oven for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes more, or until heated through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.