Homemade Lasagna

I love lasagna....really any pasta dish, paired with a salad and bread is A-OK in my book.  Up until this week I've always made it in the crock pot.  This recipe was so easy and delicious I had to share.

Ingredients

8 ounces, weight Cottage Cheese (or substitute whole milk ricotta)

16 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella, Slice 6 Thin Slices And Then Cut The Rest Into 1/2" Chunks, Divided Use

½ cups Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 whole Egg

3 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, Minced (I substituted dry basil...didn't measure, just tossed it in)

2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano

2 whole Large Handfuls Fresh Spinach (I used a whole bag of frozen, spinach that I thawed and drained)

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 jar (32 Oz. Jar) Sauce (I used Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara)

1 package (9 To 10 Oz. Package) No-cook Lasagna Noodles

8 ounces, weight Crimini Mushrooms (I used sliced, baby bellas that were on sale at Aldi)

2 cups Italian turkey sausage, casing removed; meat cooked and drained

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the ricotta, mozzarella chunks, parmesan, egg, basil, oregano, spinach, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ pan. Then place 3 to 4 noodles in a single layer over the sauce. Then spread half the cheese mixture over the noodles as evenly as you can get it. Sprinkle half the mushrooms and half the chicken over the cheese mixture then cover with some more spaghetti sauce. Layer 3 to 4 more noodles over the top and repeat layers, ending with a layer of noodles. Top the final layer of noodles with a little more of the spaghetti sauce and then the fresh mozzarella slices.

Cover and bake about 40 minutes. Then uncover and bake another 10 minutes just to brown things up a bit, but if you are pressed for time, you could skip this part.

Remove and let set for about 10 minutes before serving.  Top with fresh parsley.