Skillet Lasagna

I made this easy quick lasagna for my boys on a snowy Sunday afternoon.  They loved it.  I used a combination of two skillet lasagna recipes.  Enjoy!

SKILLET LASAGNA

Ingredients:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, minced

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1 (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg
6 no-boil lasagna noodles

Parmesan cheese for grating

Directions:

1.      Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in 3 tablespoons olive oil then toss in onion with ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil.  Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft.  Add in 2 cloves garlic and cook for another minute, then add in ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon.  Cook until just browned, about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If there is excess liquid in the pan, feel free to drain a bit.  Remove beef from heat and set aside.

2.      Heat remaining olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add in remaining 2 cloves garlic, cook until golden, 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon fresh basil, add remaining salt and pepper, cook until saucy, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a blender and puree.  Return 1 cup of the sauce to the skillet and reduce the heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce.

3.      Meanwhile, mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, the remaining 1 tablespoon basil in a bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.      Place 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet.  Layer half of the ground beef on top and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with half of the ricotta mixture, a few pieces of mozzarella and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce.  Repeat the layers, ending with noodles.  Top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella.  Cover and simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes.

5.      Let rest for a few minutes before slicing.  Garnish with more parmesan and fresh herbs.

Slow-Cooker Hash Brown Casserole

When I told my husband I was making hash brown casserole, he wasn't very excited because he doesn't like hash browns.  When I told my son I was making it, he wasn't thrilled because he doesn't like sausage.  I told them they would both wind up liking it and they did. All my other guests also enjoyed it.  The only change I made was that I used Eggbeaters so I would not have to crack a dozen eggs. My problem was that I had made it a bit too early for my event the next day.  I put it in the crock pot around 10 pm and it should have been put into the crock pot around 11:30 or later.  It takes 10 hours.  My guests were not arriving until 11 am the next day.  I will tell you that if you try to cook it longer than 10 hours it will get a bit too brown.  I kept it on warm after the initial 10 hours on low and it still got overcooked. Next time, if I get too tired to stay up, I'll put on my alarm and get up around midnight to make this casserole.  That is how good it was. I found this recipe on www.myrecipes.com and it said that it came from Gooseberry Patch July 2011.

Slow-Cooker Hash Brown Casserole
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 32-ounce pkg frozen shredded hash browns
1 pound ground pork sausage browned and drained
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 dozen eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Place 1/3 each of hash browns, sausage, onion, green pepper and cheese in a lightly greased slow cooker. Repeat layering 2 more times, ending with cheese.

Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together in a large bowl, pour over top.

Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook