What's for Dinner? Spinach Lasagna!

We love spinach and we love lasagna, so I'm looking forward to this meal! The best part of this recipe is that it calls for oven-ready lasagna noodles, which I never knew existed until now.  Hopefully they come out just as well as regular lasagna noodles, and if they do, I'm pretty sure it will make my life way easier!

Just in case anyone is wondering, yes, we are seeing results from this new life change. My husband has lost THIRTEEN POUNDS!!! I have only lost two, but it's better than nothing! We've also been out of the gym for the past two weeks, so after vacation is over and we get back into the swing of things, I'm pretty sure our weight loss will ramp up!

Skinny Spinach Lasagna 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 6 ounces fresh spinach
• 2 lbs. ricotta cheese (I used 1 lb. whole milk and 1 lb. nonfat)
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• a squeeze of lemon juice (optional, to taste)
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1 24 ounce jar of spaghetti or marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's tomato basil)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions 

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme; sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach; sauté until just barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, salt, nutmeg, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the spinach and stir to combine. Transfer some of the mixture to a food processor and pulse a few times to break up some of the spinach pieces (totally optional, but makes for a really nice texture).
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread a little bit of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles, ⅓ of the spinach mixture, ¼ of the tomato sauce, and ¼ of the cheese. Repeat and pour ½ cup water over the two layers. Repeat once more, ending with noodles, sauce, and cheese. Pour ½ cup water over the whole thing again and cover tightly with oiled foil.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes; when the liquid is bubbling and the noodles have softened, remove the foil and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving so that the lasagna noodles can soak up all the extra moisture.

Recipe and photo from: http://pinchofyum.com/skinny-spinach-lasagna