Lasagna

This was the first dish I made for my first boyfriend. It was also apparently the first time I'd ever bought ground beef as I remember being completely lost as to what to look for. I remember being excited about making something for someone, but also irked that I'd suddenly taken a domestic turn =P. Lasagna requires quite a bit of work, especially for a first cooking project, but you really can't mess up this simple version.

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Serves 2-3

Ingredients
3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb Italian sausage (optional)

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 oz)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)

3/4 lb cottage cheese (12 oz)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lb mozarella cheese, divided

1 bunch spinach (optional)
6 lasagna noodles

Steps
1. Brown the meat with the ingredients from the first section.
2. Add the ingredients from the second section, mix well, and simmer for one hour.
3. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside to cool ~ better yet, give the new fangled no-cook lasagna noodles a try!
4. In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients from the third section.
5. In a small baking pan, layer the noodles, meat, spinach (optional), cheese and repeat.
6. Bake for 30-40 min at 375 degrees.