Meat Lasagna

So, I've been building up pictures and pictures of dinners and other creations and as a result I'm going to have to play ketch-up! Literally. I've finally started to cook again and it's mostly because Luke is getting through his little "phase" of food-hating.  For the last few weeks it's been nothing but cheese and cubed ham and fresh fruit for dinner.  Not my idea of a square meal, at least from a sustainability stand point.
Our secret to loving food again?

Ketchup.
Everything gets ketchup.

So with that said, any pics of my sweet boy will have samplings of ketchup smeared everywhere.  If it's red, it isn't evidence of a casualty.  Just plane ol' toddler bait. :)

Tonight, I made lasagna.  Again, my focus is quick, easy, and for the most part, you can make items from memory.  I rarely write anything down, which is one more reason I'm blogging.  It will be easy to recreate if I lose my touch.

It was the yummiest I've made in years- seriously.  And Luke (although ketchup was involved) ate it willingly and asked for more (twice!)

It was awesome.

One thing I loved about this lasagna is the noodles I bought.  They were flat noodles that ended up expanding quite dramatically and creating a wrinkled look among the sauce and cheese.  It was beautiful.

Also make note of the absence of ricotta cheese.  I've substituted cottage cheese for the calorie-rich ricotta.  I told my mom that I did this once and she said that cottage cheese has been used for years and most call it "poor man's lasagna" for it being the less-pricey alternative.  I'll tell you, it carries a much better flavor and texture than ricotta, which tends to weigh lasagna down.  Don't be scared of the cottage cheese- it's fantastic in this dish.


Recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Light sprinkling of Oregano
1 large can of spaghetti sauce
1 cup Medium Cheddar
1 cup Mozz and Parmesan blend (I also threw about 1/2 c of Romano in today)
About 1 c Cottage Cheese
Spinach
1 package of Barilla Lasagne (rolled flat noodles)

9X9 Lasagna Pan

Brown beef and add the onion, salt, and oregano along with the spaghetti sauce
After mixed together, place just a little bit of sauce on the bottom of pan.
Place two of the lasagna noodles on the bottom layer followed by a nice layer of cottage cheese, followed by a smothering of the cheeses, followed by a really thick layer of spinach.  Don't worry about it looking like there is too much.  Spinach reduces when cooked and it will quickly get weighed down by the rest of the layers.  Next, place about 1/3 of the meat mixture evenly over.  Repeat all steps once more, but keep a small amount of meat sauce to lightly cover the top, followed by the rest of the cheese.  Just simply ration everything out to keep it all even.

Cover with foil and bake for about 50 minutes, with the last 5 minutes or so uncovered to melt the top layer of cheese.

You'll likely serve the lasagna "family style" with a big spoon, rather than cutting into squares.  Not nearly as presentable, but this kind of homemade lasagna deserves the spoon.