Almost Lasagna

Day 1 of the 15 meals under $1.50 challenge. When I read the name of this dish I thought "Why Almost Lasagna? What's so hard about making real lasagna that we can't go all the way?" And I still feel that way. The only difference I guess was the macaroni noodles. But I'd still prefer to just use lasagna noodles. I love lasagna. I crave it all summer long when it's too hot to turn on the oven. But this dish was just OK. A 3 star dish. It was kind of bland. But I guess that could be easily remedied by choosing a yummier past sauce to use in it. The macaroni noodles were nice for little toddler hands to scoop them up and eat them. I used grated zucchini in it (leftover from my Quinoa Burritos) and you couldn't tell it was in there, so that is always a bonus. It makes a lot of food. I would definitely agree that it is $1.50 a serving. I froze half of it and will use it when we move next month. But with all that said, I probably wont make it again. I prefer my own Lasagna recipe better, which is no recipe. I just throw stuff in there until it tastes good.

Almost Lasagna

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked, (or other similarly shaped pasta-like small shells)

1 pound Ground turkey, (or beef, chicken, sausage or tofu crumbles)
1 jar Pasta Sauce, (26 ounces)
 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 pound Ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups Veggies , (diced zucchini, matchstick carrots, etc.)
 salt and pepper

Instructions:

Brown meat and drain well, if necessary. While meat is cooking, stir together eggs, ricotta, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.

Mix cooked meat, macaroni, sauce and veggies. Add ricotta mixture and blend well.

Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Coat a 9-by-13 baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and spread half of macaroni mixture evenly over the bottom. Top with a cup of mozzarella and a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Add the remaining macaroni mixture and top with another cup of mozzarella and another sprinkle of Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake the casserole for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is lightly browned and bubbly.