20 Minute Lasagna Food

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

20-MINUTE LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• Mince the two cloves of garlic and dice the onion.
• In a high-walled saucepan, melt the butter, and then add the garlic and onions. Sautee the garlic and onions on medium heat until lightly browned. Add in the ground beef.
• Cook the ground beef on medium heat in the garlic and onions mixture. Once browned, stir in Italian seasoning.
• Remove half of the ground beef mixture and set it aside in a bowl. Break up the lasagna noodles into pieces, and put a layer on top of the ground beef mixture in the saucepan. Top with the remaining ground beef mixture. You can alternate with multiple layers if needed.
• Pour the can of tomato sauce over the ground beef and noodles. Cover with a lid and let the sauce simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes to allow noodles to soften and cook in the sauce.
• Top with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place the lid back on the pan for 2 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
• Serve the lasagna with an additional sprinkle of mozzarella cheese or chopped fresh basil, if desired.

QUICK AND EASY SKILLET LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown and crumbly, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain grease from skillet.
• Pour in 1/2 of the pasta sauce and mix with browned ground beef. Break up lasagna noodles into 4 or 5 pieces each and set on top of the ground beef-sauce mixture. Add the remaining pasta sauce on top of the noodles and stir. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until noodles are soft, about 25 minutes.
• Add ricotta cheese to the skillet and stir until melted. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on top; cover and let sit until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

EASY LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano and basil. In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, layer a third of the noodles, sauce, cottage cheese mixture and mozzarella. Repeat layers twice. , Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15-20 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.