Spinach Lasagna

Another of my mom's great recipes - with an added twist. This is the lasagna I grew up eating and loved... after making a batch of stuffed shells one day I decided it would be much easier to adapt this recipe by adding the spinach and fennel seeds. The fennel is what puts this recipe over the top - it adds a wonderful fresh flavor to the dish. You could easily make this vegetarian by leaving the ground beef out of the sauce or replacing it with mushrooms. This recipe makes two lasagnas, so plan accordingly!

Sauté together:

1 lb. ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

Drain fat and add:

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 tomato paste cans of water

1 Tbsp. oregano

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 ½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. dried parsley

In separate bowl, combine:

2 eggs

24 oz. Cottage cheese

1 Tbsp fennel seeds

2 packed cups fresh spinach, chopped in food processor

In another bowl, combine:

1 lb. Shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook 1 lb. Lasagna noodles according to directions on package.

In each of two 9x13 casserole dishes, layer the following:

1 ½ cups meat sauce

Noodles to cover meat sauce (usually four or five)

½ cottage cheese mixture

¼ mozzarella mixture

Noodles to cover cheese layer

1 ½ cups meat sauce

¼ mozzarella mixture

Lasagnas can be frozen until needed. Defrost in refrigerator before cooking.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.