I know what you are thinking…who turns the oven on this time of year…especially in Texas?!?
I agree, but sometimes your taste buds call for Italian food. Or, your kids have friends over and you need something that will make leftovers. 🙂
I am going to share my easy secret recipe….
It’s so secret they print it on the back of the lasagna  box! lol
Actually, I use that as my base and then I add a few of my favorite things. The thing that makes this recipe easy is the oven ready lasagna noodles. There is no pre-cooking! I love the person who invented these.
During the summer months, since we have an abundance of zucchini, I grate it up and add it to the sauce. This adds a few more vitamins and it cooks away so no one notices. Also, if I have them, I like to throw in some fresh mushrooms.
Another great addition is Italian sausage! If I have it, I will do half sausage and half hamburger meat. As you can imagine, Italian sausage is hard to find in a small town! Â I buy the Prego spaghetti sauce that has Italian Sausage in it. Give it a try!
[recipe title=”Easy Lasagna Recipe”]
Prep time: 30 minutes  Cook time: 40 minutes
- 2 lbs of ground beef, sprinkle with Italian seasoning while cooking (1 lb if you are using lean meat) or half Italian sausage and half beef
- 3 cups (26 oz jar) of spaghetti sauce (Prego, with Italian sausage is my favorite)
- 1 cup (8 oz can) tomato sauce (optional, but you may need it if you have a lot of meat)
- 2 cups of shredded zucchini (optional, but perfect for summer!)
- 1 cup of chopped mushrooms (optional)
- 1 3/4 cups (15 oz) of ricotta cheese (you can also sub cottage cheese)
- 1 or 2 eggs, slightly beaten (sometimes the mixture is too thick and may require 2 eggs)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves/seasoning (if you don’t have these, use Italian seasons)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves/seasoning
- 12 pieces of Skinner Oven Ready Lasagna, uncooked
- 4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (you can easily do it with 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Heat oven to 350F.
- In a large skillet, cook meat until browned; remove from heat. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Stir and simmer until all is heated and veggies are soft.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, basil and oregano.
- Assembly:
- In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Place 3 pieces uncooked pasta crosswise over sauce. Pieces should not overlap or touch side of pan since they will expand when baking. (These noodles do not need to be pre-cooked.)
- Spread 2/3 cup ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta.
- Spread 3/4 cup of the meat sauce evenly over ricotta, covering pasta completely
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the above steps 3-4 times or as ingredients allow.
- End with the meat sauce
- Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
- Makes 10-12 servings.
Make Ahead Directions: Prepare recipe as directed; DO NOT BAKE. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate up to 48 hours or freeze up to 2 months. Remove plastic wrap; replace foil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and frozen lasagna for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, removing foil during the last 10 minutes.
[/recipe]
Easy-Peezy! Anyone can do it!!



Comments are closed.