Not Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna

I thought I should clarify right off the bat that this isn't a vegetarian recipe. I am sure it could be adapted to be such, but I used meat.

I liked this ok. Baby I loved it. He scarfed this for I don't know how many meals. My complete was that it tasted too much like wine. I've decided that next time I make this, I'll do it differently so I am including two recipes--the original slightly adapted one I made, which Curtis liked a lot and I liked it ok, and the recipe I plan on trying next time. I'm sure if you wanted, you could leave out the wine entirely, just substitute more tomatoes or other liquid in it's place. M helped me make this which was a lot of fun. She and J ate it just fine the first time around (or so I am told, I didn't eat with the fam this evening), but neither of them would eat it as leftovers.

Not Vegetarian Spinach Lasagne
adapted from Gourmet

The first time around bolognese sauce recipe:
1/4 lb bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 1/2 c dry white wine
1 1/2 c whole milk
1/4 c tomato paste
1 c diced tomatoes with juice
1 1/2 t thyme leaves

What I am going to do next time:
1/4 lb bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c dry white wine
1 1/2 c whole milk
1/4 c tomato paste
2 c diced tomatoes with juice (or maybe even more than this. I'll let you know!)
1 1/2 t thyme leaves

For the Ricotta filling:
10 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped or 2 (10-oz) pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 (15-oz) containers ricotta cheese
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 Parmesan cheese
1/2 t grated nutmeg
3/4 c whole milk, divided

To assemble use the above plus:
12 no-boil dried lasagne noodles (from 1 box, original recipe recommends Barilla brand)
1/2 c grated Parmesan

To make the sauce: Cook bacon until it is crispy. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain some of the fat, but leave 1 - 2 T in the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pan, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden and softened, 12 - 15 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps, until meat is no longer pink, 6 - 10 minutes. Stir in wine, milk, tomato paste, thyme, 1/4 t salt, 3/4 t pepper, and diced tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated but the sauce is still moist, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the ricotta filling. Whisk together the ricotta, eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, 1 1/4 t salt, and 1 t pepper in a large bowl. Transfer 1 1 /2 c of mixture to another bowl and whisk in 1/4 c milk. Set aside. Whisk spinach into remaining filling with remaining 1/2 c milk.

To assemble lasagna, soak noodles in a bowl of very warm water until pliable, but not softened, 3 - 5 minutes. Place on kitchen towel (but you don't need to pat dry). Spread 1 1/2 c bolognese sauce in baking pan and sprinkle with 1 T parmesan. Cover with 3 noodles (leaving space in between). Spread half of spinach filling on top, then 1 c bolognese sauce, and top with 1 T Parmesan and 3 noodles. Repeat. Top with remaining bolognese sauce, 1 T Parmesan and remaining 3 noodles. Pour reserved ricotta mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c Parmesan.

Cover pan tightly with parchment paper and foil (to prevent cheese from sticking to foil. You can also just butter the foil). Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned in spots, about 15 minutes more. Let stand 15 - 30 minutes before cutting.

If you are making this ahead of time, you should probably bake it you are making it a day or more ahead of before you are going to serve it (because the noodles aren't cooked prior to going into the oven). To serve it, reheat in 350 degrees oven, loosely covered with foil. If it is just a couple of hours ahead of time, you are safe to refrigerate until you need to bake it.