Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Easy Bake Lasagna


I live in the south, so we aren't having true fall weather yet, but it's at least cooled off enough that most days I don't mind using my oven. One of my very favorite oven meals to make is lasagna, and what I like about my very favorite lasagna recipe is that it's easy to put together, and you don't have to pre-boil the noodles. Now I know that these days they make no-boil lasagna noodles, but "back in the day" when I first started making this they didn't have those, or at least not in my small town grocery stores. Since that time, I've made lasagna with the no-boil noodles, but I don't particularly care for the texture of the finished product, plus they cost more. With this recipe, you can have the convenience of no-boil noodles with the texture and price of the regular old noodles.

Ingredients:
  • 1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground meat
  • Jar of spaghetti sauce (or the equivalent in home made sauce)
  • 1 envelope of spaghetti seasoning
  • 1 1/2 c water
  • 8 ozs grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
  • 16 oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 T dried parsley
  • pepper


For the sauce, cook and drain the ground meat--I've used beef, turkey, or a mixture of the two,. Add the jar of sauce (I use Ragu traditional) and the envelope of spaghetti seasoning. (that's my own touch--I think it adds a boost of flavor to jar sauce, especially for lasagna). Pour the water into the jar and swish it around, then add it to the sauce. (The extra water is what makes it possible to use non-pre-cooked noodles.) Bring everything to a simmer.

Meanwhile, combine all three cheeses, parsley, and little bit of pepper, and mix in the two eggs.


Yes, it looks like library paste with green sprinkles in it, but it tastes good!


To start to build your lasagna, start with a 9 x 13 inch pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom, and spread it around to cover the bottom of the pan

Lay three uncooked lasagna noodles on top of the sauce (they will expand to fill the pan when they cook)


Divide your cheese mixture in half, and put on top of the lasagna noodles (the original recipe stated to 'spread' the mixture-I just kind of glob it on as evenly as I can. Then when I add the next layer of noodles, I press down on the noodles to kind of squish the cheese mixture so that it spreads out even more)



Add about a cup of sauce on top of the cheese.

Repeat with layers of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Add one more layer of noodles, then pour all of the remaining sauce on top.
Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to stand about 5 minutes before cutting.


I've made this for years, it's usually one of the things my son requests when I haven't seen him in a while (he's away at college). I made this twice recently, and of course trying to get pictures, for some reason could not get a really decent picture of the finished product. It's really delicious, and is another of those "fix it and forget it" meals you can get ready, put in the oven, then go put your feet up and relax while it's cooking.

I usually serve this with garlic bread, breadsticks, or yeast rolls, and of course a salad is always nice with it as well.

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday
at Balancing Bedlam and Beauty

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
at Blessed With Grace

Tuesdays at the Table
at All the Small Stuff

Recipe Swap
at the Grocery Cart Challenge


Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

9 comments:

  1. That looks really good. I should have read this before I ate lunch. Now I'm hungry again!

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  2. YUMMY!!! lasagna is even better when it's EASY!!! THANKS!!! for the recipe. Geri

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  3. That looks great! Lasagna is a favorite. :-)

    Thanks for sharing with TATT!

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  4. It's been so long since I've had a meat-based lasagna. This looks really tasty. Thanks.

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  5. Oh, that looks divine! I could dive headfirst into a recipe like that. I understand why it's a favorite of your son's!

    Happy Foodie Friday...

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  6. Ya know, I've never made lasagna! I may just have to try this out. Sounds easy!

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  7. How did you know?? I just made a lasagna myself this morning. ( It's noon here in Belgium). I make a white cheese sauce and a tomatoe and meat sauce. Mix the two sauces together and layer that between the lasagna sheets. I also put some chopped courgette in the tomatosauce. We use emmenthal cheese here. But I will try it your way with the Italian cheese the next time. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Well. the really good thing about your post is that I now know what I want to have for dinner. This sounds like a wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing with us. Have a great day.

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