Spinach Lasagna

Life is a combination of magic and pasta. ~Federico Fellini
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1 bunch fresh spinach or 1 package of frozen spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves, chopped
2  - 3 cups tomato sauce 
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 (16-oz.) container ricotta cheese
3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 & 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella 
lasagna noodles, uncooked
  1. For fresh spinach:  Wash and carefully dry about a head of fresh spinach.  Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot.  Add spinach and stir around until wilted and cooked a bit.  Remove from heat, let cool and drain in a colander.  (I save the juice for smoothies.)  When cool to touch, squeeze remaining juice from spinach.  Set aside.
  2. For frozen spinach:  Thaw spinach in a colander.  When thawed, squeeze spinach to remove excess juices.  Set aside.
  3. In a heavy skillet, saute' chopped onions and bell pepper until onions are transparent.  Add garlic and stir for a minute.
  4. Stir in tomato sauce, seasonings and garlic and heat until warm and bubbly.  Turn off heat.
  5. In a bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and 3 slightly beaten eggs.  
  6. Spoon about 4 or 5 tablespoons of the sauce into a 9 x 13" baking dish.  Spread around with a spatula or spoon evenly over the bottom of the dish.
  7. Arrange a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles over the sauce.  You can overlap them slightly or leave gaps, doesn't matter.
  8. Next, spread about 1/3  of the remaining sauce over the noodles.
  9. Spread about 1/3  of the spinach over the sauce.
  10. On top of that, spread about 1/3 of the ricotta-egg mixture.
  11. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  12. Repeat layers in this order:  noodles, sauce, spinach, ricotta, and shredded cheese until you end up about 3 layers and shredded cheese on top.  The first time you do this (and for me every time), you will just have to judge how much to add to each layer.  Sometimes I find myself running out of sauce.  Just throw in a bit more tomato sauce or spread thinner.  It's still going to be delicious.
  13. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for about 35 to 40 minutes.  
  14. Remove foil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more or until slightly bubbly and a little golden on top.
  15. Let stand and cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
  16. Serve with a green salad and a big loaf of warm French bread.