Jaron's Simple Bison Lasagna with Peri-Peri Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds ground bison
• ½ pound lean ground pork
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 (14 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce (such as Hunt's®)
• 1 (6 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato paste (such as Hunt's®)
• 1 cup low sodium salsa
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons peri-peri chili pepper sauce (such as Nando's®)
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 (16 ounce) package creamed cottage cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) box oven-ready lasagna noodles (such as Italpasta®)
• 3 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (such as Black Diamond®)

Step 1

Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the bison and pork together, breaking it up as it browns, until it's fully cooked and crumbly—this should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Toss in the onion and garlic, cooking until they soften, around 3 minutes. Then, stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, water, peri-peri sauce, and Italian seasoning. Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce simmer gently, stirring now and then, until it thickens and all the flavors come together nicely—about an hour.

Step 2

While the sauce is simmering, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Pop the frozen spinach into a microwave-safe bowl and heat it until it’s steaming and any extra water has evaporated, usually 5 to 7 minutes. Let it cool a bit before mixing in the cottage cheese.

Step 3

To assemble, spread a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer some noodles on top, then more meat sauce, followed by another layer of noodles. Spread the spinach and cottage cheese mixture over that, add another layer of noodles, then the rest of the meat sauce, and finally sprinkle the shredded Italian cheese on top. Cover everything with foil.

Step 4

Bake the lasagna for 40 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so, until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Let it sit for about 20 minutes before slicing to help it set up.