spinach and mushroom lasagna

Michael requested this dinner for Father's Day and I am glad he did! It had been a while since I had made it and it's one of my favorites. I modified a lasagna recipe from allrecipes.com to my tastes, basically increasing the mushrooms, quadrupling the spinach (I super-duper love spinach!), decreasing the amount of cheese and substituting no boil noodles. I seriously love no boil noodles, they make making lasagna a breeze!


spinach lasagna
12 no boil lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
10 ounces (8-9 packed cups) fresh spinach
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups tomato pasta sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach.
4. Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Blend together. Spread 1 cup sauce on bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Lay four lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese.
5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool 30+ minutes before serving.