Stacey's Lasagna

I've been taking the lazy way out and buying frozen lasagnas for a while now. SuperDad finally complained and said that homemade lasagna was much better, so I decided to go for it. I couldn't find my old lasagna recipe, so I made up this one. The whole family loved it! I'm definitely keeping this one in a handy place! :)

Stacey's Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 24 oz. (1 1/2 lb.) container cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
5 oz. container shredded parmesan cheese (not the grated powdery stuff)
12 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 to 1/2 lb. turkey breakfast sausage, crumbled
1/2 large or 1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
Salt, pepper
1/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon (can use real bacon bits, but not the imitation kind)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. prepared basil pesto (sun-dried tomato flavored pesto works well, too)
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 10 oz. bag baby spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped (can cut stems off, but not necessary)
1 1/2 lbs. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Combine cottage cheese with parmesan cheese and let sit, covered.

2. Cook lasagna noodles until just done, turn off heat, and let sit in water until ready to use. (Edited to add: MAKE SURE you dry these on some paper towels before you layer them in the lasagna or you will end up with a nice watery mess and your people will complain.)

3. In large skillet or pot, brown ground turkey and sausage (chopping with spatula to break up chunks) with onion and bell pepper until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add bacon pieces, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar and pesto, stirring well to combine. Cook on medium-high heat about 1 minute, then stir in tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and spinach. Stir well to combine and cook until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat.

4. In a deep 9x13 lasagna pan (I used the foil disposable kind - easy clean-up!), layer the following in order:
* Meat sauce - just enough to lightly cover bottom of pan
* 3 cooked noodles
* 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture
* 1/4 of the sauce left in the pot
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* Repeat layers three more times, ending with shredded mozzarella on top.

5. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.