Traditional Canadian Spinach Lasagna (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

→ Meat Filling

01 - 2 cups (500 mL) homemade tomato sauce
02 - 1 kg ground beef
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
05 - Salt, to taste

→ Spinach Filling

06 - 1 litre cottage cheese
07 - 500 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
08 - 4 eggs
09 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Assembly

10 - 1/2 cup homemade tomato sauce
11 - Prepared meat filling
12 - Prepared spinach filling
13 - 650 g mozzarella cheese, sliced
14 - 16 cooked lasagna noodles

# Instructions:

01 - In a large skillet, brown ground beef with minced garlic over medium heat, breaking the meat into small pieces. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Combine 4 cups of the cooked beef with 2 cups homemade tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
02 - Thoroughly squeeze thawed spinach in a clean tea towel to remove excess liquid. In a mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, drained spinach, eggs, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix until evenly blended.
03 - Spread 1/2 cup of homemade tomato sauce across the bottom of an 11 x 33 cm casserole pan. Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce. Layer 1 cup meat sauce sparsely over noodles, followed by 4 more noodles. Distribute 1 1/4 cups meat sauce over the second noodle layer, then arrange mozzarella cheese slices evenly on top. Place 4 more noodles (cut smaller pieces as needed to fit the pan). Evenly spread the entire spinach filling mixture over this layer, then top with another 4 noodles. Spread 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over final noodle layer. Top generously with remaining mozzarella cheese slices to completely cover the surface.
04 - Wrap assembled lasagna tightly in plastic wrap; date and label. Freeze for future use. To bake from frozen, preheat oven to 175°C. Bake covered with tented foil for 120–150 minutes, until bubbly and the cheese on top is beginning to brown. Remove foil if necessary to avoid over-browning.
05 - Preheat oven to 175°C. Bake lasagna, covered with tented foil, for 75 minutes until bubbling and cheese on top is beginning to brown. Remove foil towards the end if needed to finish browning.
06 - Portion cooled leftover lasagna into individual servings. Wrap each piece securely, label, date, and freeze for convenient single portions.

# Notes:

01 - Tightly wring spinach to prevent excess moisture in the lasagna layers.
02 - Allow lasagna to stand for 10 minutes after baking for easier slicing.

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