Easy Lasagna

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My mother found this recipe on the back of a box of Skinner lasagna over 30 years ago.  She made it all my life and then, of course, shared the recipe with me. And now, because I love to make your life in the kitchen easier, I am sharing it with you.

I hear so many folks so they don't make lasagna because it's too hard.  Well, not any more! Lasagna can't get any easier than this. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BOIL YOUR NOODLES! I know you can't believe that, but you add extra water to your sauce and that cooks the noodles while it's baking.

AND, it makes A LOT! So, either invite some friends or plan to eat it again later in the week.

Try it...I promise you won't be disappointed!

GET THIS:
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 container (15 oz ) ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
9 pieces Lasagna, uncooked

DO THIS:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, brown meat; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and water; simmer about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, one-half mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 11x7inch baking dish. Arrange 3 uncooked pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce; cover with 1 cup sauce. Spread one-half cheese filling over sauce. Repeat layers of pasta, sauce and cheese filling. Top with layer of pasta and remaining sauce; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake additional 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Spaghetti Carbonara

•1/2 inch olive oil (for frying pan)

•2 cloves minced garlic

•1 chopped onion

•8 to 12 thick slices Italian bacon

•4 eggs

•2 packages spaghetti (I use 2-16 oz packages)

•2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a frying pan, combine 1/2 inch of olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, one chopped onion and the Italian bacon cut into small squares. Let simmer for about a half-hour, being careful not to let the oil get to a boiling point.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook both packages of spaghetti until al dente, drain and immediately add egg mixture to pasta. The eggs are actually cooked by the pasta. (Make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked before proceeding.) Stir the egg mixture until it is well mixed. Pour in the mixture from the frying pan and stir. Finish with the Parmesan cheese and serve!

My notes:

This recipe was featured on Oprah by Tom Cruise.  The day I saw it I just happened to have everything on hand to make it so I tried it out.  It has become a staple in our house.  We absolutely love it.

Italian bacon is not easy to come by at the places I typically shop and I will not drive all over town looking for it, so we just use thick sliced bacon.

Olive oil 1/2 inch deep seems like a massive amount of olive oil.  Yes, I was scared too, but do what it says and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

A couple of times I have also browned a pound of Italian sausage and added it to the olive oil the last 5 minutes of cooking.  It adds more meat to the dish and further pleases the men in my life.

I consistently forget to take a picture of this dish.  So, you'll just have to trust me on this one.  We LOVE it and it has become a regular on the family menu.

The recipe says it serves 4. I'm not sure how much these 4 people are expected to eat, but when I make it, it serves at least 8.  We made it for a recent family gathering and it served 14 with several people going back for seconds.

Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto

This started as a cute little jar of stuff my mother picked up for me at a discount store.  However you can buy it online at Tastefully Simple.  I must say it was quite tasty and quite simple.  The directions were to mix olive oil and water with the stuff in the jar, let it sit for at least 5 minutes, microwave it for a whopping 1 1/2 minutes, stir in parmesan and pour it over your favorite pasta.  How easy is that!?!?!  Since there was no meat in this little jar, and the directions did not include adding meat of any kind, I had to be creative for the carnivore that I live with.  I sliced a handful of Little Smokies into circles and tossed them around in a hot skillet with a little italian seasoning.  I had opened a can of black olives at lunch.  So, I sliced those up as well.  Found a can of quartered artichoke hearts in the pantry and coursely chopped those too.  The final result was Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto with parmesan, italian sausage, artichokes & black olives over whole wheat rotini.  Whew!  That's a mouth full!  BUT, it was delicious, all of us enjoyed it, and I will most likely be ordering some more of these cute little jars!!!