Well, I am chuckling just a bit as I write this. If you know my Dad, he’s a very funny guy and pretty much instantly loved by just about everyone who meets him. He has a funny habit of pronouncing words the way they are spelled, not how they are said. I think it started when we were little to help us remember how to spell words. So anyways, as I type lasagna, in my head it is /la zag na/ which just makes me giggle. Give it a try the next time you are studying vocab words with your kids or trying to remember a funny spelled word. Put Dad’s spin on it and I’ll bet they remember how to spell those vocab words! I did this with Mo for a Spanish test. Not only did she pass the test, I still remember those Spanish words. Just a little memory aid to go with this delicious Lasagna (/la zag na/) 🙂

The best part of this lasagna is that it is easy! We do not cook anything ahead of time and we do not have to use special noodles or add extra liquid. You pretty much put it together the “old way” except don’t cook anything first. You do have to plan for expansion (those noodles get bigger when cooked), and cook it a little longer covered with foil, but it’s way less clean up. And, while it does take a little longer in the oven, you can do something else with that time, so overall faster and easier in my opinion. You can also customize this lasagna to your tastes. You can use sausage, ground beef, combination of both, or none. You can add vegetables like mushroom, zucchini, peppers, and or onions. Or, stick with cheese as the main focus and do not add any meat or vegetables. It’s very flexible which makes using ingredients you have on hand really easy. If I’m making a vege version, I do like to sauté vegetables first in a little olive oil and garlic, especially mushrooms – love the way these taste when sautéed. I don’t think cooking them raw in the lasagna would give as good a flavor. When I make meat versions, I put the meat in raw. If you like to cook it first, go for it, it will taste good either way.

I think this tastes best when made at least one day ahead and it also helps everything to set up a little better so you can actually cut pieces without it mushing all over the plate. Generally, when I make lasagna, I make 2 pans of it – 1 for dinner the next night and one for the freezer. I cook them both, so that the one in the freezer is fully cooked, just needing to be reheated when you want to serve it.  This freezes really well and is great to have on hand for busy weeks. You do have to defrost it ahead of time, but if you take it out in the morning or night before, it’s usually ready to go for that evening. You could also freeze individual size portions. So if you want to make an extra pan for the freezer, just double this recipe and make in 2 pans. When the pan is cooled completely, just pop it in the freezer.

To get started pour some sauce in the bottom of the pan (9×13). Add a layer of uncooked noodles. Don’t worry if they don’t fill up the whole space, they will expand. On top of the noodles, spread some ricotta cheese.

Next add some shredded mozzarella and the meat or veges of your choice. I used turkey sausage.

Now, add some sauce and repeat the layering process – sauce, noodles, ricotta, meat/veges, mozzarella.

On the final layer, end with sauce. Don’t worry, we are going to add more cheese when we bake it the second time.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Turn off the heat to the oven and let the lasagna sit in there until it cools. Do not take the foil off. Once cool, place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, pull it out of the fridge about 1 hour before you want to cook it.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top. I’m pretty generous with this sprinkling because I like it nice and bubbly when it’s cooked.

Cook this uncovered for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Everything is cooked from the day before, so this step is more about heating it up and melting the cheese.

Doesn’t that look yummy? 🙂

Lasagna Made Easy

Homesteading Dreams

Delicious lasagna recipe made faster and easier by not cooking ingredients ahead.

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

  

• 2 jars of your favorite tomato sauce I really like Bertolli tomato and garlic
• 2 8 oz. pkgs. of shredded Italian cheese or Mozzarella reserve some for top
• 1 16 oz. container of Ricotta cheese you can also substitute cottage cheese if you prefer
• 1 pkg. Lasagna noodles with a few left over
• 1/2 # ground meat I use turkey sausage

Instructions

 

• Pour some sauce in the bottom of the pan.
• Add a layer of noodles.
• Spoon on some ricotta cheese and spread.
• Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Sprinkle on sausage.
• Pour sauce over all and repeat layers until you reach the top. (I usually do about 4 layers)
• Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
• Turn off oven and leave pan in the oven until cool.
• Place in refrigerator overnight.
• Take out of the fridge one hour before baking.
• Uncover and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lasagna is cooked through.