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Friday, April 16, 2010

Make Ahead Lasagna


Last week I was out of town for work again and wanted to make something before I left that Ryan could eat for a few days. He's perfectly capable of cooking, but I knew with his busy schedule he'd probably opt for cereal or sandwiches and I wasn't about to let that happen! This lasagna was a snap to throw together and I stuck it in the freezer a few days before I left. He let it thaw a day ahead of time and then cooked it the first night I was home. Ryan ended up eating it every day I was gone (sometimes twice a day!), so I was glad my efforts weren't in vain! He was even good enough to snap a picture of it! Though lasagna doesn't photograph well, he assured me that it was tasty. Normally I'd make my own tomato sauce, but I was short on time and this sauce seemed to work just fine. Because I was trying to quickly put this together, I just did it on a whim, which is why some of my measurements and directions are approximations. Thankfully, you can't really screw up lasagna. I love make ahead meals!

Make Ahead Lasagna

Ingredients:
-No boil lasagna noodles (I believe I used about 12 total)
-1 lb ground turkey
-1 zucchini, sliced
-1 container ricotta cheese
-1 egg
-dried oregano, basil, & pepper, to taste
-1 cup (approximate) mozzarella cheese
-1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used a mushroom spaghetti sauce)

Directions:
1. Brown turkey in a skillet over the stove.
2. In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, egg, herbs, and pepper, mixing well.
3. In a 9 x 9 pan, cover the bottom with lasagna noodles (may need to break in order to fit).
4. Layer with turkey, zucchini, and ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Spread a small amount of sauce over the layers.
5. Repeat sequence, beginning with the noodles and following with step #4. Continue to repeat until pan is full. Top last layer of noodles with remaining sauce.
6. Cover with plastic wrap & foil and freeze until ready to serve.
7. Thaw overnight before baking. Bake at 375F for 45-55 minutes, until cooked through.