Lazy Moms Faux Lasagna Food

MY MOM'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the beef and sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and dried oregano and cook until they are softened and the meat is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and toast for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/3 cup Parmesan, fresh basil and oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles over the sauce and top with a third of the ricotta filling. Spoon over a layer of sauce and top with another layer of noodles. Continue with 2 more layers of ricotta, sauce and noodles, ending with a top layer of noodles. Spoon a thin layer of the remaining sauce over the top, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the noodles and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and cook until the cheese is golden and the lasagna is bubbling, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

EASY LAZY LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta until tender but firm; drain.
• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat until browned. Add onions and carrots; cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce and Italian seasoning (oregano or basil). Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
• To Assemble: Spread half of the meat mixture on bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with all of the pasta. Spread all of the cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meat mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven, uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbling.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

WEEKNIGHT LAZY LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Drain noodles well; stir into cheese mixture., Spread 1 cup pasta sauce into a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the noodle mixture and 1 cup sauce; layer with the remaining noodle mixture and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese., Cover with greased foil; bake until heated through, 10-15 minutes.

LAZY MOM'S FAUX LASAGNA

Steps:

• Prepare water to boil and pre-grease a deep casserole dish.
• Brown beef, onions and garlic in a medium sized sauce pan (if you don't like your onions a tad crisp, saute your onions and garlic until soft, prior to adding the beef).
• Add spaghetti sauce AND spinach to the beef, onion and garlic; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 350, and add noodles to boiling water and cook until al dante.
• Drain noodles and return to pot.
• Pour the sauce mixture into the noodles, RESERVING two or so cups, and mix thoroughly. Set remaining sauce aside.
• Pour half of the pasta mixture into the pre-greased casserole dish, layer with 6 slices of provolone cheese, pour in the remaining pasta, break the remaining provolone into pieces, layer, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Finally, pour on the reserved sauce.
• Bake, covered, on 350 for 35 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

LAZY MAN'S (OR LAZY MOM'S LASAGNA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brown the beef with the optional onion, optional garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper in a large, ovenproof skillet (I use one that's made of castiron). When the meat is thoroughly cooked -- it will take 8 to 10 minutes -- drain off any fat and take everything out of the pan. Now put the still-frozen ravioli into the pan, breaking them up if they are clumped. Spread the ground beef mixture evenly over the ravioli, and ladle the spaghetti sauce evenly over the ground beef mixture. Over medium heat, without stirring, cook until the ravioli is heated through and beginning to brown on the bottom -- about 10 minutes.
• Take the skillet off the heat, lay the provolone slices over the ground beef mixture, and sprinkle the whole thing with the Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve hot.

MOM'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a three-finger pinch of salt and sweat them until they're translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the neck bones and let them brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ground veal, beef and sausage, and season with another healthy pinch of salt. Cook until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the white wine, tomatoes and their juice, and the bay leaves. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, making sure to get all of the browned bits into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, and simmer for 2 hours over medium heat. Remove the bay leaves and neck bones and let cool. Skim any fat that rises to the surface.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add enough salt so that it tastes seasoned and allow the water to return to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
• In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, parsley, basil, oregano, eggs, and Parmesan with a pinch of salt.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Ladle about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a lasagna pan. Arrange a layer of noodles followed by a layer of sauce and then some of the ricotta mixture. Top with a layer of mozzarella, smoothing it with a spatula to the edges. Repeat the process until the pan is full. Finish with a final layer of noodles, sauce, the mozzarella, and Parmesan.
• Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest, 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

LAZY MAN'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• To assemble:
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cover the bottom of a deep baking dish with a layer of Bolognese sauce. Lay out the uncooked pasta sheets over the sauce until they cover the baking dish entirely. Cover the pasta with another generous layer of Bolognese sauce. The liquid from the sauce will cook the dried pasta so be sure to add enough sauce. Drizzle the bechamel sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella on top, until both are distributed evenly. Add another layer of dried pasta, laying the sheets in the opposite direction. Repeat the process of adding sauces, mozzarella, and pasta for another 2 to 3 layers or until two-thirds of the baking dish's depth is filled. Top off the last layer of sauces and mozzarella with a generous sprinkle of the Parmigiano cheese.
• Place the pan in oven for approximately 40 minutes and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
• In a hot saucepan, melt the unsalted butter with the olive oil, and add the carrots, onion, celery, and chili pepper. Cook the ingredients over medium heat, until they are soft. Add a sprig of rosemary. Add the ground beef and pork, and cook until golden brown. Remove the rosemary sprig, and add the white wine. Let reduce. Add the tomato sauce or La Salsa di 5 Minuti, and let simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Before serving, add basil leaves and salt to season. Serve immediately.
• Salsa di 5 Minuti:
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan and add onion, garlic, and chili peppers. Gently fry ingredients together. Add pureed plum tomatoes to saucepan. Simmer on low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Season with salt to taste. Add basil leaves at the very end.
• Bechamel:
• In a saucepan, heat up the milk, and bring to a gentle simmer. In another saucepan, melt the butter and immediately add the flour.
• Lower the heat, and mix until the butter has absorbed all the flour and is the consistency of thick dough. Make sure the butter-flour mixture does not burn or brown.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in a couple of ladles of heated milk into the butter-flour mixture. Whisk until the flour has absorbed all of the milk. Put the saucepan back on the burner over medium heat, and whisk in the remainder of the milk.
• Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and becomes a creamy velvety consistency.

LAZY WOMAN'S LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown beef and stir in sloppy joe seasoning mix and tomatoes.
• Cook and drain lasagne noodles per package directions.
• Beat cream cheese until smooth.
• Layer noodles in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with meat and cream cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F.
• (I think you could double this recipe quite easily for a bigger family).

BUSY MOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir beef and onion in the hot skillet until beef browns and onion softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Add spaghetti sauce, cream cheese, and sour cream to the skillet. Mix well.
• Spray a 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Layer noodles, beef mixture, and cheeses in the slow cooker. Repeat layers as necessary until cooker is full.
• Cover and cook on High for 2 hours. Switch to Low and cook until noodles are soft and cheeses are melted, about 2 hours more.

LAZY LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook pasta a bit less than fully done.
• Grease a 9x13 pan with olive oil.
• Layer 1/2 the amount each of pasta, ground beef, ricotta, parmesan, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella in that order.
• Repeat except for the mozzarella.
• Draw a wooden spoon through the layers in an S-shaped pattern to mesh the layers without actually stirring them together.
• Top with the remaining mozzarella.
• Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is as brown as you like it and everything is bubbling hot.
• Note -- steamed and drained zucchini or very well-drained, frozen spinach is a good addition.
• Note -- Can substitute ground turkey or chunks of cooked chicken/turkey for the ground beef if desired.

LAZY LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Mix cottage cheese, egg product and 1 cup mozzarella. Combine sauce and crumbles; spread half onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.
• Cover with layers of pasta and half the cottage cheese mixture; top with remaining sauce and cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella; cover.
• Bake 1 hour or until heated through (160ºF), uncovering after 30 min. Let stand 10 min. before cutting to serve.