Monday, July 19, 2010

Yummy and easy lasagna

Alex is my lasange kid. He wants lasagne for all his special occasions. Last year for his birthday I found myself awakening an hour early than my normal o dark thirty to prepare noodles and meat mixture so that I could pop it in the oven  that evening in between the kids activities. I've since tried to find an easier way of making lasagne. And lucky for my boy who has red sauce and ricotta cheese running through his veins, I have. This can still be prepared early in the day but it doesn't need to be. I love making dishes that I can pop in the oven and leave while I run the kids around all evening.

the goods....

2 pound lean ground beef


3 cups KRAFT Part Skim Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, divided

2 cups light ricotta cheese

1 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 jar pasta sauce

1 1/2 cups water

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
 
 
here we go.....


1.Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.

2.Drain meat; return to skillet. Stir in pasta sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended.

3.Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, one-third of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1-1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil.

4.Bake 1 hour. Remove foil; continue baking 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting to serve.

sharing the love......
 
Serving Suggestion: I serve this with a Caesar salad.
Shortcut: Adding water to the sauce helps cook traditional noodles during baking, so you don't have to cook them beforehand. This saves you 15 to 20 minutes of prep time.
Easy Cleanup: Placing a layer of sauce under the first layer of noodles will help prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom of the baking dish.
 
Happy Cooking!

2 comments:

DeFusco said...

Hey, they have lasagna noodles now that don't have to be cooked at all. Barilla makes them.

Also try some provolone one time in addition to the mozz. Adds great flavor

The Johnson 5 said...

Mike I've tried those noodles but they seemed rubbery. So I tried the regular noodles with more water to cook them and it worked out better. I love the idea of the provolone. I will have to try that next time.