Italian Sausage Lasagna

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a large 9×13 casserole dish. Set aside.

Remove sausage from castings. Just take a knife or kitchen shears and cut along the bottom edge. The casting should come off easily. Cook sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using a silicone spoon or spatula, cut up the sausage to resemble small pieces. Cook until no longer pink in the middle. Drain off fat. Add 4 1/2 cups marinara sauce (my homemade marinara sauce on my website is wonderful). Stir until well combined. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chopped spinach, basil, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined.

Into your casserole dish, layer in the following order: Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Spread 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce over the ricotta. Top with 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Add 4 noodles, remaining ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups sauce, and 2/3 cup mozzarella. Top with remaining 4 lasagna noodles, 1 cup sauce and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted.

Click on the related blog link for tips on making ahead.