Kitchen shortcuts result in wonderful lasagna

I've recently discovered no-boil lasagna noodles.

True, there's nothing finer than a well-constructed, made-from-scratch meal. But shortcuts are OK by me.

And being a fan of cutting corners in the kitchen, especially on work nights, I am very happy with how my Quick & Dirty Lasagna turned out. I used some items already housed in the kitchen (noodles, a jar of marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and mushrooms) and a couple I picked up at the store (Italian sausage and frozen spinach).

From prep to plate this lasagna took less than an hour, only resulted in a handful of dirty dishes, and tasted just as good as lunch the next day. Using an 8-by-8 glass baking dish, this recipe resulted in four hefty servings.

Quick & Dirty Lasagna
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
six no-boil lasagna noodles
24 ounces marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, defrosted
6 ounces white or brown mushrooms, washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown sausage in frying pan over medium heat, using large spoon or spatula to break into crumbles. Remove from heat and drain fat from pan.
Place defrosted spinach in colander, squeezing spinach to remove excess liquid.
Pour 1/4 cup sauce into baking dish. Begin layering remaining ingredients, starting with two lasagna noodles and continuing with spinach, Parmesan, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella and marinara. Ingredients should be enough for two layers, topped with two final noodles, sauce and mozzarella.
Cover dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil from dish and bake for additional 15-20 minutes, allowing cheese to brown.
Remove lasagna from oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.