Easy Bake Lasagna

I live in the south, so we aren't having true fall weather yet, but it's at least cooled off enough that most days I don't mind using my oven. One of my very favorite oven meals to make is lasagna, and what I like about my very favorite lasagna recipe is that it's easy to put together, and you don't have to pre-boil the noodles. Now I know that these days they make no-boil lasagna noodles, but "back in the day" when I first started making this they didn't have those, or at least not in my small town grocery stores. Since that time, I've made lasagna with the no-boil noodles, but I don't particularly care for the texture of the finished product, plus they cost more. With this recipe, you can have the convenience of no-boil noodles with the texture and price of the regular old noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground meat
• Jar of spaghetti sauce (or the equivalent in home made sauce)
• 1 envelope of spaghetti seasoning
• 1 1/2 c water
• 8 ozs grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
• 16 oz container ricotta cheese
• 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 T dried parsley
• pepper

For the sauce, cook and drain the ground meat--I've used beef, turkey, or a mixture of the two,. Add the jar of sauce (I use Ragu traditional) and the envelope of spaghetti seasoning. (that's my own touch--I think it adds a boost of flavor to jar sauce, especially for lasagna). Pour the water into the jar and swish it around, then add it to the sauce. (The extra water is what makes it possible to use non-pre-cooked noodles.) Bring everything to a simmer.

Meanwhile, combine all three cheeses, parsley, and little bit of pepper, and mix in the two eggs.

Yes, it looks like library paste with green sprinkles in it, but it tastes good!

To start to build your lasagna, start with a 9 x 13 inch pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom, and spread it around to cover the bottom of the pan

Lay three uncooked lasagna noodles on top of the sauce (they will expand to fill the pan when they cook)

Divide your cheese mixture in half, and put on top of the lasagna noodles (the original recipe stated to 'spread' the mixture-I just kind of glob it on as evenly as I can. Then when I add the next layer of noodles, I press down on the noodles to kind of squish the cheese mixture so that it spreads out even more)

Add about a cup of sauce on top of the cheese.

Repeat with layers of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Add one more layer of noodles, then pour all of the remaining sauce on top.

Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to stand about 5 minutes before cutting.

I've made this for years, it's usually one of the things my son requests when I haven't seen him in a while (he's away at college). I made this twice recently, and of course trying to get pictures, for some reason could not get a really decent picture of the finished product. It's really delicious, and is another of those "fix it and forget it" meals you can get ready, put in the oven, then go put your feet up and relax while it's cooking.

I usually serve this with garlic bread, breadsticks, or yeast rolls, and of course a salad is always nice with it as well.

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Bedlam and Beauty

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace

Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff

The Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Recipe Swap at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!