If you’re having family over for dinner, it isn’t always easy to know what to make. The pull between making something special and making something easy so you can spend time with your guests is a struggle. But one dish always comes to the rescue in cases like this: lasagna. This Italian staple will yield enough food to feed a crowd and can largely be prepped ahead of time. Make it once, and you'll see why this spinach and sausage lasagna will become your new favorite go-to dinner idea.
This recipe calls for you to first brown some sweet Italian sausage in a large pot or Dutch oven. Then let it simmer in red wine before creating a delicious homemade sauce made out of tomatoes and basil. If you like your food to have more of a kick, you can use hot Italian sausage. If you want to be able to control the spices in the lasanga, replace a pound of sausage with a pound of ground beef, pork or turkey. Season as desited while the meat cooks, but spices like garlic powder, oregano, dried basil, onion powder and fennel are a good place to start. Don’t forget to add salt and pepper — not doing so is a major home cooking mistake.
While the sauce simmers, cook the lasagna noodles until al dente in salted water. Now it’s time to make the mixture for the creamy layer of this pasta dish. Typically people like to use ricotta cheese for a lasagna recipe, but you can substitute it with cottage cheese, which is similar to ricotta in flavor and texture but lighter. Take ricotta cheese and mix it with mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder and eggs.
Now you can start layering your masterpiece. In a casserole dish, spread the tomato sauce on the bottom, then layer with lasagna noodles and cover with more sauce. Add your ricotta mixture with some spinach. If you desire, toss in some bell peppers and mushrooms for extra color and flavor to this dish. Continue layering everything until you run out of ingredients. If you’re making your lasagna ahead of time, stop here and refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to bake.
Then, top it off with mozzarella and Parmesan before placing the pan in the oven to bake. If you plan on bringing this dish to a party, make sure to let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Of course, this lasagna takes some advance time and planning. If making this pleasing pasta dish takes too much time for you to make, you can always try making one of these pasta recipes that are ready in about half an hour.
Spinach and Sausage Lasagna
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