Mom's "Easy" Lasagna

Lasagna is nothing ground-breaking, but everyone seems to have their favorite recipes. This recipe was the first I made on my own (that I can remember anyway). I remember e-mailing my mom and asking her for the recipe when I was in school at UW-La Crosse.

Lasagna is definitely a comfort food for me. And I like that you can make it your own by changing things up, adding different ingredients or leaving something out. I made it Saturday night when I had a hankerin' for something warm and cheesy.

Easy Lasagna

2 lbs. ground beef (I used 1.75 lbs. ground turkey seasoned with lots of spices and herbs like oregano, parsley, ground red pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ground fennel seed)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 can mushrooms (I used a bunch of fresh, sliced)

1 32 oz. gar spaghetti sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. oregano

2 eggs

1 cup cottage cheese

8 lasagna noodles (I'm a big fan of whole wheat noodles)

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1 pkg. shredded mozzarella (I'm not sure exactly what size this is supposed to be, but I used a 2-cup bag with some extra we had)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Brown onion in 1 tbsp. oil; add beef/turkey. Cook and drain. Stir in mushrooms, sauce, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. oregano. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cook noodles per box. Drain. Beat 1 egg and pour over cooked noodles to keep from sticking. Beat second egg and add spinach, 1 tbsp. oil, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Pour half meat in 13x9 inch pan. Layer 1/2 noodles and spinach mix. Sprinkle 1/2 package mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering noodles and meat. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Add 1/2 package mozzarella. Bake for additional 5 minutes. Let sit a few minutes.