Maniac I mean Celiac Approved Potato Spinach Lasagna

So first off, let me tell you a little story about my friend Tine. She does quite a bit of travelling and we have enjoyed countless adventures in several destinations across the continent and one thing that we really enjoy is sampling the local cuisine. Well last summer she went to Italy. I was beyond jealous at the delectable Italian food that she would be able to sample as she travelled through cities, towns, and villages alike. However, less than a month before she was to leave, she found out that she has Celiac's. So no pasta, no pastry, no pizza, no bread, no nothing that she (and I) would crave and hit up in Italy! So she went on her trip and I waited nervously to hear how her trip would go with such a restriction. She made out fine enough but travelled endlessly around to find gluten free pasta places, taking trains, buses, taxi's and the like across entire cities to reach one little restaurant or another only to find out they were closed.

So about a month later when I had plans with Tine, I invited her over for supper. She clarified for me that it's tough to cook for her and she'd eat before she came. I said no way, hoser, you're coming for supper. So what did I make? Maniac oops I mean Celiac Approved Potato Spinach Lasagna. I found the recipe from an ICU cookbook at work and made a few alterations to come up with this delicious recipe! (She was thrilled that she finally got to eat lasagna.)

*The pic above is of me and Tine doing a swamp tour in Louisiana.

*This takes a long time to cook, so plan ahead.

Maniac I mean Celiac Approved Potato Spinach Lasagna

a few twirls around the pan of olive oil

4 onions, chopped (I use my Pampered Chef Food Chopper - it's a fancy sturdier Slap Chop)

1 TBSP paprika

3/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

2 pgk frozen spinach, thawed

3 lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (I use my Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandolin and these are sliced in 3 minutes flat)

2 cups grated light old cheddar

Cheese Filling:

1 lb cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups feta, crumbled

3/4 cup milk

pinch nutmeg, salt, and pepper

1 egg beaten

In large pan, heat oil or margarine and fry onions until golden, add paprika, salt, and half the pepper. In separate bowl, mix spinach with generous pinch of salt. In bowl mix together cottage and feta cheeses, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add egg and mix well.

Slice potatoes thinly. In well oiled 9x13 baking dish, arrange 1/3 of potatoes, top with 1/2 the onions, 1/2 the spinach, and 1/2 the cheese mixture. (You can mix the spinach and cheese mixtures together if you want). Repeat potato, onion, spinach, cheese. Top with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and finish with grated cheese on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Then, uncover and continue baking until top is bubbly, 45 - 50 minutes.