On 5/31/2014 vabreeze said: On 5/31/2014 dfyre said: I make a quick "faux" lasagna dish that is always very popular, feeds a lot and takes little effort:
In a large pot, brown 1 lb. ground beef, 1 lb. Italian sausage (removed from casings), a teaspoon of chopped garlic and 1 chopped onion.
Add a 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning (or a large jar of spaghetti sauce) and 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and add a pound of pasta (penne or rotini is best).
Cover and cook until pasta is done (slightly undercooked since you'll be reheating the next day)
Stir in 8 oz. shredded mozzarella and a small container of ricotta.
You can make it tonight, put it in a casserole dish and reheat tomorrow - maybe sprinkle with a little more mozzarella before heating.
Dfye,
I have saved your recipe for the next time I need to take a dish to the homeless shelter for veterans that my church group helps to feed monthly. This does seem easy, quite hearty--- and looks like it'll make enough for a small army (no pun intended). You state that penne or rotini pasta is best to use. Do you think it might also work using uncooked lasagna noodles if they are broken into small pieces? Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I've never tried using lasagna noodles, but I don't see why they wouldn't work - however, I would use the ones you have to cook as the boiling would destroy the no-boil ones. I do have an easy skillet lasagna recipe that is similar but doesn't feed nearly as many:
Brown 1 lb. sausage and 1 small chopped onion. Drain excess fat and add 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, garlic powder and Italian seasonings to taste (or, again, a large jar of premade sauce). When it simmers, break a box of no-boil noodles in half and press in layers into the sauce (i.e., put in a layer, press into sauce, put in another layer and so on) - just put broken bits into the empty spaces. Cover and cook about 8 minutes. Top with 1 lb. ricotta in blobs and swirl through. Top with 8 oz. shredded mozzarella (original recipe called for sliced fresh mozzarella which is good but I rarely have it on hand). Cover and cook another five minutes. Let set for about 15 minutes to firm up. No one can tell this from the real thing and it takes less than an hour.
I'm Italian - 100% - so we do eat a lot of pasta. Tonight, I'm hosting a pot luck for my cat club - 25 members. I work full time so have a crockpot going full to the brim with meatballs and sausage that I cooked on Sunday and just needed to add tomatoes and seasonings this morning so there will be a wonderful sauce ready when I get home. Just need to boil water for the spaghetti and my portion is done. I host these twice a year since our house is large and conducive to crowds but have an iron-clad rule - if you bring something, leftovers go home with you! Some sneaky person left a half gallon of spumoni in my freezer last year - guess who ate it?
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