Vegetarian Lasagna

My dad is the oldest of seven, so when his side of the family has reunions, they're quite large. Luckily, his brother Pete makes this killer lasagna that feed lots of people. This is my version of his recipe.

It's vegetarian, and is the basic building block to which you can add ingredients of your choice. For example, if you're a meat eater, you can add a layer of cooked ground turkey, italian sausage, or shredded chicken. If you're a vegetarian, you can add in a layer of eggplant, mushrooms, sliced summer squash, broccoli, etc.

1 jar tomato sauce
1 container part skim ricotta
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach, shredded
1 egg
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 bag grated mozzarella cheese (at least 12 oz; 16 is better)
1 box oven ready lasagna noodles ("no boil" noodles-- whole grain if you can find them!)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
5-6 leaves fresh basil (optional)
9x13 baking dish
Oven preheated to 375

1. Start by mixing the ricotta and the egg and 3/4 of the parmesan cheese in a bowl. Add the garlic powder, then mix in the spinach and (optional) basil.
2. Spray the baking dish with nonstick spray, then put a few ounces of the sauce in the bottom of the pan, and spread it around. This prevents your lasagna from sticking.
3. Place a layer of lasagna noodles across the bottom. If you need to break one in half, go ahead, the idea is to cover then entire bottom of the pan. Spread some of the ricotta mixture in, then a layer of anything you might be adding (meat or other veggies), then about a third of the sauce and then some mozzarella. Layer some more noodles, and repeat. You should get three total layers.
4. After the last of the noodles are on top, pour any remaining sauce on, and top with mozzarella and parmesan.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes (55 if using whole grain noodles). Let stand ten minutes after it's out of the oven before serving.

Serves approximately six.

Enough said.