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1
Brown ground beef, stirring till no large lumps remain.
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2
Push meat to sides of pan and let water cook away until water has evaporated.
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3
While there is still water in the pan, pour in dried onion flakes.
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4
When water is gone and only grease remains, stir and then drain the meat through a colander.
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5
Add remaining spices and stir.
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6
Then add the spaghetti sauce and let simmer.
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7
While sauce is simmering, combine Cottage Cheese and Ricotta Cheese in mixing bowl.
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8
Beat together with a mixer until smooth.
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9
(At this point you can put the baby spinach in a food processor and chop finely and add to cheese mixture, if desired) Once sauce has simmered 15 to 20 minutes, gather cheese mixture, sauce, noodles and Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
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10
Pour a layer of sauce into 13 x 9 inch baking pan or casserole dish.
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11
Using DRY noodles, spread the Cottage and Ricotta cheese mixture on each noodle and place in pan side by side.
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12
Then pour a layer of sauce over the cheese.
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13
Sprinkle with Parmesan to cover and then add a thick layer of shredded mozzarella.
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14
Repeat until there are 3 layers of each.
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15
(Note: When using dry noodles sauce should be a bit more thin than if using cooked noodles.
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16
The dry noodles will absorb the liquid and cook along with the rest) Cook in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40- 45 minutes.
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17
Keep covered loosely with aluminum foil for the first 30- 35 minutes so cheese doesn't brown too much.
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18
Once it has baked, remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes to make cutting easier.
