Eating With The Seasons - April, Still Chilly!

April feels like an old car to me. The engine needs a kickstart to really get going. Most days it just sputters and dies out, resulting in bitterly cold days. Other days you can feel every nut and bolt moaning and groaning as it gets off to a shaky start, which means that you see a lot of grey skies and endless rain. Then once in a while, the good juices finally kick in and April's engine starts humming and it zips off like a teenager - and those are the days that I love, because it translates to sunny skies and warm days, filled with the scents of new grass and spring flowers.

Of course, till those days come around (remember, they've been pretty rare so far around my neck of the woods), I know I can rely on the ooey-gooey-cheesy-goodness of my Beef & Spinach Lasagne to get me through. I've decided to feature this recipe as my entry for this month's Eating With The Seasons (hosted by the lovely blogger Maninas: Food Matters) because it features a healthy dose of lovely, earthy spinach and sweet carrots. And, here's what I really like about it, it's still warm and comforting enough to get you through the chilly April weather. I think I'll also submit this for Presto Pasta Nights, because it's one of those generous events that allows you to submit one entry to multipe food blog events. Created by Ruth from Once Upon A Feast, the next round-up will be hosted by Hillary from Chew On That.

On a side note, may I just say something? I know I know, it's my blog, I can say whatever I want - well almost, but that's another story. Anyway, I digress. I wanted to give a shout-out to whoever invented the "no-boil" lasagne noodles! HIYOOOO! Those things are awesome! Why have I not been making lasagne with them my entire life?! I'll tell you why. Years ago, when I first decided to make lasagne by myself, I used a recipe that called for these so-called "no boil" lasagne sheets. Dubious at first, I trotted off to my local grocery store to hunt down these fabled noodles. And I don't know what game the Big Guy was playing with me that day, but my grocery store didn't have any such pasta, nor did the very UNhelpful grocery store clerks have a clue as to what I was talking about (pppfftttt ... teenagers!). So I just thought, this recipe is WRONG! And foolishly went back to using my regular lasagne sheets, which used to fall apart during the boiling process and were basically a pain. Recently however, I discovered the "no-boil" lasagne in my pasta aisle at the grocery store and POUNCED! One word. Genius. My lasagnas have never been better because of them. Yes yes, feel free to laugh at my expense because you've been using this product for years now, but better late than never for me, right? Right?! (note to self: learn to keep up, you idiot)

Beef and Spinach Lasagna (using the recipe from Food Mayhem - really creative, fellow New Yorkers; currently going through some site improvement. Thanks for a GREAT recipe guys!)

Meat Sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound 11 ounces (90% lean) ground beef
1 (28oz) can crushed tomato with basil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf

Cheese & Spinach Filling
10 ounces frozen spinach, blanched, drained and cooled
1 pound shredded whole milk mozzarella
15oz tub of whole milk ricotta

Assembly
9x13 baking dish
16 (no boil) lasagna sheets (8"x4" each)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a medium pot on medium high heat. Stir in onions, bay leaf and soften for about a minute. Add carrots and stir around for another minute. Stir in tomato paste until well distributed.

2. Add ground beef and stir around until browned, about 5 minutes.

3. Add crushed tomatoes and garlic. Bring to boil. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F while meat sauce cools a bit.

Cheese & Spinach Filling:

1. Ring out spinach with paper towels.

2. In a medium sized bowl , combine spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta.

Assembly:

1. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.

2. Lay 4 sheets of lasagna down.
3. Spread 1/3 of cheese and spinach filling on top of lasagna sheets. Spread a little more than 1 cup of meat sauce on top.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times. Lay another layer of lasagna sheets on top. Cover with remaining meat sauce. Spread remaining cheese mixture on top. If you have parmesan, sprinkle it on top now.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 5 minutes (I turned on the broiler for 5 mins). Take it out of the oven. Continue grinning and jumping with joy about how gorgeous it looks and smells. Let it cool for 5-10 mins, then cut yourself a big cheheeeeeesy chunk!

Verdict: Everybody loved this dish. No matter if they were 5 year olds or 50 year olds, everyone who tried this, really really enjoyed it. And it's ridiculously easy! Plus, it's got to be healthy, what with all that spinach and carrot mixed in there, right?! And let's not forget about those "no boil" noodles! I've made this lasagna several times now, and have never gone wrong with it. It feels so damn good to find a recipe that you can always count on to please any crowd.