Skillet Lasagna

Skillet Lasagna is a quick and easy meal to prepare after a long day’s work.  It’s vegetarian, but you could easily add ground beef to this dish to please the meat lover in your family.  A package of thawed, frozen chopped spinach would also be a nice addition to the dish.  The original recipe is from Southern Living.  I did a few adaptations when I made this version.

Step one:  Chop an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic.  Saute until soft in EVOO. 

Step Two:  Pour in a jar of spaghetti sauce, a package of egg noodles, and two cups of water.  Stir frequently and add more water as needed until the noodles are cooked through.

Step Three:  Mix a 16 oz container of cottage cheese, an egg, and 3/4 cup of shredded Italian style cheese in a small bowl.

Step Four:  Spread the cottage cheese mixture over the cooked noodle mixture. (Shown below)  Cover the dish with more Italian style shredded cheese. (Not shown)

Step Five:  Cover the dish and lower the heat.  In 5-8 minutes, the cheese will be melted and warm. 

Step Six:  Sprinkle with fresh basil.  Serve and enjoy! (Not shown)

This is the original SL recipe.  I used an entire package of egg noodles, cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and I doubled both cheese amounts. 

Skillet Lasagna

1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (26-oz.) jar tomato-and-basil pasta sauce
1/2 (12-oz.) package multigrain extra-wide egg noodles
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Italian six-cheese blend
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (optional)

 

1. Sauté onion and garlic in hot oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in pasta sauce, egg noodles, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium to medium low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is just tender and liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper.

2. Stir together ricotta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls over pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

3. Cook, covered, over low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil, if desired.

Total Time 35 minutes. Prep: 10 min., Cook: 20 min., Stand: 5 min.

Yield: Makes 6 servings
Southern Living, AUGUST 2008