Tonight's dinner

(I really need a cooking icon)

Spinach lasagna

(adapted from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle's recipe)

1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked (or use Trader Joe's keen no-boil noodles)
1 pound frozen spinach
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp or so of dried basil
1 Tbsp of dried oregano
2 Tbsp olive oil
15 oz. tomato sauce (one can)
2 cups ricotta, thinned with some milk
2 cups mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan; add onion, garlic and carrot and cook until they soften. Add spinach and herbs, cook until spinach is thawed and warm.

2. Thin ricotta with half a cup of milk or so, until it's easy to pour and spread. If you're all about the cheese (and I can't think of any right-thinking person who isn't), stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.

3. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles in a 9 x 13 pan. Spread in layers: 1/2 of the ricotta, 1/2 of the vegetable mixture, 1/3 of the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat, then finish with a layer of noodles, the rest of the tomato sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. *

*This is important, at least if you have my oven and is most of the reason I decided to write this recipe down. The original recipe calls for 40 minutes, which has twice resulted in a thick brown verging on black crust that required a very sharp knife to penetrate. I'm all for golden brown cheese, but this was excessive.