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!  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
  1. Heat oven to 350F.
  2. 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.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, basil and oregano.
  4. Assembly:
    1. In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
    2. 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.)
    3. Spread 2/3 cup ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta.
    4. Spread 3/4 cup of the meat sauce evenly over ricotta, covering pasta completely
    5. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
    6. Repeat the above steps 3-4 times or as ingredients allow.
    7. End with the meat sauce
    8. Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
  5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes until hot and bubbly.
  6. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
  7. 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!!

Facebooktwitterpinterest