Lasagna with Chicken Italian Sausage & Spinach

I'd like to sit here and pretend that we always have a big Sunday meal, with five choices of sides, three of which are freshly cooked vegetables, but most Sunday nights that is not even close to reality. Sundays around here are family days, which means depending on our moods and the season we can usually be found doing one of these activities or a combination of: sleeping in, cooking a big breakfast, going to church, gardening, watching football, going for a Sunday drive, a long walk, doing puzzles and reading with our girls. Sundays pass too quickly, and by evening I am feeling rather lazy in regards to dinner.  But some Sundays, when I have been extra organized with my time and my shopping list, I can put out a meal worthy of a Sunday dinner, family style........

Don't be afraid of lasagna, it's not as time consuming or as complicated as you might think. This whole meal from start to finish only took me a little over an hour, and more than half of that is just cooking time. A really great tip I got from watching an episode of The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) is to put your uncooked lasagna noodles in a bowl of piping hot tap water for 20 minutes, then drain. The lasagna noodles end up perfectly par boiled without the hassle of actually par boiling!

Lasagna with Chicken Italian Sausage and Spinach
Serves 6-8

1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage (casings removed)
1 10 oz bag spinach
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3 tsp italian seasoning (seperated)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 oz Ricotta
8 oz Lasagna noodles (1/2 package)
12 oz FRESH Mozzarella (cut in thin slices)
1 cup Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper.  Add garlic, cooking until fragrant about a minute. Add sausage cooking until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add spinach in batches until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. Simmer 20 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put lasagna noodles in bowl and pour the hottest tap water over them. Let sit 20 minutes, then drain. In a medium bowl combine Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. The only good way to do this is by using your hands! Set aside.

In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 1/3 of the red sauce on the bottom of baking dish. Then layer half the pasta noodles. On top of that half the Mozzarella, then half the Ricotta mixture. After that 1/3 more of the sauce, rest of the pasta, then the rest of the Mozzarella, followed by the Ricotta mixture, then the last 1/3 of the sauce. Bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with salad, and like all lasagna the leftovers taste even better!