Three Cheese Skillet Lasagna

I love lasagna but until recently I always considered it a "special occasion" dish. Not that lasagna is super fancy. After all, it usually ends up in a sloppy pile on your plate anyway. I mainly considered it a special occasion dish because of the drawn out process required to make it. Cook the noodles. Cook the sauce. Cook the meat. Layer carefully in a pan. Bake for...ever. Not to mention, the only lasagna recipes I have make a gigantic dish of the stuff. Making a pan of lasagna for two people really means making a commitment to eat lasagna for the next five days straight. All that said, it's just not very practical for us to keep lasagna on our weekly menu rotation. 

Well, that is, until I discovered this Skillet Lasagna. Boy, was that a great night. All the meaty, cheesy, tomatoey goodness of lasagna made in one pot in less than 45 minutes? Yes, it can be done! Better yet, the leftovers of this lasagna won't fill up every tupperware container you own. We are big fans of sprinkling feta cheese on the finished lasagna. I just love the tang and added texture it brings to the dish. But if you're not a fan of feta, you can make your own three cheese lasagna with mozzarella, provolone, asiago, romano...the possibilities are really endless. With a recipe as easy and delicious as this one, I'm sure you'll have no trouble trying out all sorts of combinations to find your favorite. Enjoy!

Three Cheese Skillet Lasagna

Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

Water

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion

Salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 lb. ground beef, chuck, or sirloin

1/2 lb. Italian sausage

10 curly edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2 inch lengths

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons basil

1/2 c. plus 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Pepper

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup ricotta cheese

Feta cheese for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Pour tomatoes with their juices into 1 quart liquid measuring cup. Add water until mixture measure 1 quart. 

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until onion begins to brown. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook about 30 seconds. Add meat and cook until no longer pink. 

3. Scatter pasta onto meat but do not stir. Pour diced tomatoes with juice and tomato sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with basil and oregano. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. 

4. Uncover and add spinach. Cook and stir until just wilted, or 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dot with ricotta, cover, and let stand off heat for five minutes. Sprinkle with more Parmesan or feta cheese. Serve.