• Preparing the spinach is the first step. Use a kitchen towel and a large bowl, placing the spinach in the middle of the towel and squeezing out the water content. The more water you remove, the nicer the finished lasagna will slice to be plated.

  Microwave frozen spinach for 3 minutes, then allow it to cool enough to handle before removing the water.

  The key is to squeeze/remove 80-90% of the spinach water.
• Short How-To Video-Removing The Water
• The Lasagna Filling:

  Add the prepared spinach to the food processor and pulse a few times to start. Then using a fork, move the spinach around to help the food processor chop.

  Add in the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese, pinch of salt and pepper and combine. Use red pepper flakes for an extra pop of spice.
• Learn how to make your own Ricotta Cheese
• The Sausage Filling:

  Choose a sausage you enjoy. I used bratwurst. Remove the sausage from the casing and place it in a clean food processor. Add cottage cheese along with the remaining ricotta cheese.

  If you dislike cottage cheese, the texture will be very different once combined with the sausage. You can, in place of the cottage cheese, use more ricotta cheese. The tip is to scale back the amount of ricotta cheese added to the spinach/cheese blend, or you could buy more while shopping for the lasagna ingredients.

  The recipe can be changed slightly on the amounts of each cheese. Little more, a little less...
• The Tomato Sauce:

  Using store-bought tomato sauce works just fine. Look for one with garlic and basil added or a simple marinara sauce.

  Now, if you're like me and love to make tomato sauce, I have the best possible technique ready for you to discover. Truly artisan culinary experience.

  Visit the post below in the notes section and learn how to make some great tomato sauce.

  For other tomato sauce recipes on our website, just use the search box at the top of your screen lookup tomato).
• Watch How-to Video on Tomato Sauce - Recipe link in the description

Making Spinach Lasagna

• Layer 1

  Using a casserole dish, begin with a layer of tomato sauce. You do not need to use a lot on this layer. Just enough to cover the base of the casserole dish.
  
• Layer 2

  Next, add a layer of noodles/pasta sheets. I often enjoy using store-bought, oven-ready lasagna sheets.

  Fresh will work. My suggestion is once you roll out the fresh pasta, allow it to air dry until it firms up some. Maybe even overnight. (If overnight, lay each pasta sheet flat).
• Layer 3

  Add a layer of the spinach/cheese mix (use half).
  
• Layer 4

  Sprinkle on red pepper flakes (or not if you do not like a little spice), followed by a layer of 6 sliced pieces of swiss cheese (or select a cheese you like).
  
• Layer 5

  Add more pasta sheets & then a layer of the sausage/cheese filling.
  
• Layer 6

  Another layer of pasta, then more tomato sauce (be generous with the tomato sauce on this layer).
  
• Layer 7

  More spinach filling, this layer will make it thicker than the first if you have a lot of spinach still in your bowl. Something to pay attention to is perfect layers are a must.

  To achieve uniform layers, the amount should first be divided between two bowls before being divided between the two layers.
  
• Layer 8

  Finish the layers in this remaining order:

  1) Add more sliced swiss cheese

  2) More pasta sheets (4 sheets on the layer)

  3) More tomato sauce (try to keep some sauce for plating. Everyone wants more sauce.

  4) Grate some fresh mozzarella cheese and sprinkle it over the top layer of tomato sauce.

  5) Slice large/thick slices of the mozzarella cheese and place them on the top layer.

  6) Finish with sprinkles of parmesan cheese.
  

Baking Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius

  Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil, making sure to secure the top.

  Place on a cookie sheet to make sure there's no mess in the oven.

  Bake for one hour, then remove the cover and raise the oven temperature to 425.

  Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and delicious.
• Presentation:

  Once out of the oven, allow the spinach lasagna to cool down. If you slice too soon, the lasagne slices will not look nice but will start to slide on the plate.

  I like to make this one day in advance to let the flavors develop. The presentation can be controlled by being able to make perfect slices from a cold lasagna straight from the refrigerator.

  If you decide to use your oven broiler to brown the top, it will only take a short few minutes for a beautiful presentation.