Alright, let me tell you how I whipped up some lasagna the other night. I was absolutely beat after work, really didn’t feel like doing anything complicated, but the craving hit hard. You know how it is. So, I decided to try my super quick, kinda lazy version.
Getting Started – The Lazy Way
First thing, I rummaged through the fridge and pantry. Here’s what I grabbed:
- Ground beef (about a pound)
- A jar of my favorite marinara sauce (Yeah, no homemade sauce tonight!)
- Lasagna noodles – the no-boil kind. These are key, seriously.
- Ricotta cheese (the whole tub, why not?)
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Some parmesan cheese
- One egg
- Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper (because chopping felt like too much effort)
So, I got my biggest skillet out and tossed the ground beef in there. Cranked up the heat to medium-high. While that was browning, I just broke it up with a spoon. Didn’t even bother chopping onions or garlic this time, just sprinkled in a good amount of garlic powder and onion powder straight into the meat. Added some salt and pepper too, of course.
Putting It Together
Once the beef was cooked through, I drained off most of the grease. Then, the easiest part – I dumped the entire jar of marinara sauce right into the skillet with the meat. Gave it a good stir, turned the heat down low, and just let it simmer for maybe 5 minutes while I prepped the cheese stuff.
In a bowl, I mixed the ricotta cheese, about half of the mozzarella, a handful of parmesan, and that one egg. Added a bit more salt and pepper. Mixed it all up. Simple.
Now for the layering. I grabbed a baking dish, maybe 9×13 size.
Here’s how I did it, super fast:
- Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the dish. Just enough to cover it.
- Placed a layer of those no-boil noodles on top. Didn’t even overlap them much.
- Spoon dollops of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Didn’t spread it perfectly, just dotted it around.
- Sprinkled some mozzarella over the ricotta.
- Spoon more meat sauce over that.
- Another layer of noodles.
- Repeat: ricotta mix, mozzarella, meat sauce.
- One last layer of noodles.
- Topped it all off with the remaining meat sauce, making sure the noodles were covered.
- Finished with a generous layer of the remaining mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan.
Baking and Eating
I covered the dish loosely with foil – loosely so it wouldn’t stick to the cheese. Popped it into the oven, which I’d preheated to about 375°F (around 190°C). Baked it covered for about 25 minutes. Then I took the foil off and baked it for another 15-20 minutes, just until the top was bubbly and starting to get golden brown. The kitchen smelled amazing by this point.
Pulled it out and, this is important even when you’re rushing, I let it sit for a good 10 minutes before cutting into it. Helps it hold together better. Honestly, for how little effort went into it, it turned out really good. Cheesy, meaty, hit the spot perfectly. Wasn’t the fanciest lasagna ever, but for a quick weeknight meal? Absolutely nailed it. Clean up wasn’t even that bad. Definitely doing this again when I’m short on time.