Just realized that one of my favourite go-to recipes has never appeared here! When you get tired of that turkey, my American friends, you might give this dish a try. I’m leaving the kitchen for a few days but wanted to share this with you before I put all the dishes away…LOL…Buen Provecho as always!!
Reg’s Lasagna (easily feeds 8 people)
1 cup diced white onions
1 cup celery chopped
1 cup carrots sliced
1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef and pork mixed (you could use ground chicken or turkey instead)
1 or 2 garlic cloves minced
14 oz. can cubed tomatoes
5 ½ oz. can tomato puree
1 19 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
½ cup red wine (optional)
2 TBSP. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. each of basil and oregano
12 lasagna noodles oven ready
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 package fresh spinach stems removed and chopped
1 small package of fresh mushrooms sliced
1 large bag shredded manchego or mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated parmesan (don’t use the Kraft powdery stuff!)
In a little olive oil, brown the carrots, celery and onions until tender and slightly browning. Add in the pork and beef mixture and cook until browned and almost no pink visible. Drain off the fat if there is an excess. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, ½ of the tomato sauce, sugar and seasonings. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add in the sliced mushrooms and continue to simmer until they appear softened.
While this has been cooking, mix the ricotta cheese with the chopped spinach in a bowl. Set aside.
In a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish pour a little of the remaining tomato sauce and spread over the bottom. Place four noodles in the bottom of the dish. Add ½ of the meat sauce to cover the noodles. Add 1/3 of the grated manchego or mozzarella cheese.
Cover this with four more lasagna noodles. Add the layer of ricotta and spinach. Add four additional lasagna noodles. Cover with the other half of the meat sauce and 1/3 of the cheese.
Add four more lasagna noodles ( if you have no sauce left, heat the remaining half jar of spaghetti sauce and pour over the top noodle layer. Cover with the remainder of the cheese. Over top of this add the Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Test the noodles with a sharp knife to make sure they are softened. Remove from the oven and let sit before cutting into desired portion sizes.
I make this a few hours before company comes and let it cool before refrigerating. 45 minutes before serving remove from refrigerator to let the dish warm to room temp. Return to 350 degree oven for about 15 to 25 minutes.
Buen provecho...2022 
I look forward to making this. We are always hungry for a tomato sauce something after Thanksgiving. The US stores traditionally put those makings on sale, so I guess we are programmed..
Question, ‘oven ready noodles’, does that mean the no need to boil first kind, or boiled and ready noodles? Just wondering because it says to test if they are soft . The last time I tried the no cook kind it did not turn out so good. They were tough and never plumped up, but stayed kind of tortilla like. Maybe they were old or just needed to cook longer. Thanks Reg. You guys are like my cooking guru.
The secret John is to make sure the sauce you pour over the noodles is piping hot and covers almost every surface. The oven ready noodles need no prcooking. I use Gallo brand in Mexico. Check the box to see if they say oven ready. FYI…these are dry in appearance in thex…LOL. I only stuck the knifein to reassure myself that they were indeed soft through all of the layers.