Lasagna

Lasagna and pot roast are similar to me.  Another rite of passage into adulthood.  However, this lasagna is cheater's lasagna - no boiling of noodles required.  And I got the recipe straight off the box of noodles.  Rave reviews from the family!  I have to admit, though, I still like boiling the noodles and regular lasagna - there's just something about it.  But, if you're in a time pinch, this recipe will do just fine!!

You'll need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• about 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce (I recommend two jars, but I"ll talk about that later)
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce (optional, I didn't use this)
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 12 pieces Skinner Oven Ready Lasagna, uncooked
• 4 cups (16 oz) mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese (I used shredded and liked it better)

Brown beef - I seasoned mine with my favorite usual suspects:  salt, pepper, garlic powder.  After meat is browned, add jar of spaghetti sauce (the recipe calls for 3 cups, but I added about 4, you can add more/less if you like, but when I make this again I'm going to double the meat and sauce, you'll see why later on...)

Mix ricotta, egg, and spices - looks not very appetizing when first thrown in the bowl

But improves when you mix it up :)

Assembly begins!  Spread 3/4 cup meat sauce on bottom of pan.  Place 3 noodles over sauce.  Do not overlap or touch side of pan with noodles

Spread 2/3 cup ricotta mixture over pasta.

Spread another 3/4 to 1 cup meat sauce over ricotta, covering all the pasta

Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

Then repeat these steps TWO more times.  Finish with remaining noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella and parmesan

I put this all together while my little person was napping, covered it with foil, stuck it in the refrigerator until ready to stick it in the oven.  

If putting it directly in the oven, bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more until hot & bubbly.

If baking from refrigerator, bake, covered for 40 minutes, remove foil & bake for 10-15 minutes more until hot & bubbly.

It said you could refrigerate it up to 48 hours and freeze it up to 2 months!  Very convenient!  (If frozen, bake, covered, 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350, remove foil last 10-15 minutes as before)

Yummy!

I used the remainder of my jar of sauce, heated it, and added it on top of my lasagna.  That's why next time I make this I'm just going to make double the meat sauce so I can have meat sauce to top it off instead of plain sauce.  I guess the no boil noodles soak up a lot of the sauce and that's why the extra sauce is a good addition.

Even my little person had extra sauce - it made it extra good!  :)

I baked one of those crusty french breads, from Pillsbury, in the oven, heated up green beans and that's it - yummy meal!  And the family loved it - again, much more than the onion tart :)