Quick & Easy Dinner for Days

If there’s one thing I wish I had more time for it’s the kitchen.

Ok, you got me- there are LOTS of things I wish I had time for but culinary exploration is top of the pile. My brother and sis in law are amazing cooks and whenever we go there I come back wishing I knew my way around the kitchen just a little better.

But what I can say is since having Juliana I’ve nailed a handful of quick, easy, amazing foolproof meals that make superior leftovers…y’all know that’s crucial here! I like to think about these as my “meal hacks” and today’s post is about my favorite, lasagna. It’s also Juliana’s favorite to make (and taste as we go 😉 ) and the one we have most fun making together.

When I tell people lasagna is my favorite meal mostly because it’s so quick and easy I always receive a look of surprise or disbelief. I feel like there’s mystere around this member of the pasta family and tonight I hope to clean that up.

This recipe requires just 4 ingredients (+ seasoning) and takes very little time to prep.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 large jar of Ragu chunky tomato, garlic and onion pasta sauce
• 1 bag of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 16oz container of 2% ricotta cheese (I used a 32oz container here to have leftover ricotta)
• 1 box of no-bake lasagna noodles (look for a box that says ‘no bake’)
• Disposable foil lasagna pan (it’ll be labeled as a lasagna pan at the store)
• Salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste

Side note- I love that the ingredients “keep” for a few weeks in the fridge so I have the ability but not the obligation to make it soon after grocery shopping.

Prep time:

10 minutes (max)…nothing needs to be measured!
Bake at 400 for 35 minutes

Clean up:
5 minutes

Bake time:
35 minutes

Yield:
1 pan of lasagna = three full lunch or dinners for our family of three.

First I turn the oven to bake 400 to get it heated while we prep. I like to start the layers with pasta sauce. The reason I do is because no bake noodles are a bit more dry than their boiled counterparts and making things extra saucey prevents the lasagna from getting too dry when it bakes.

After putting down sauce, we do a layer of noodles.

After the noodles I scoop ricotta and spread it over the noodles. When I have a little more time I’ll mix the ricotta with milk. This makes the lasagna extra moist but you totally don’t have to do this if you use enough sauce. After the ricotta I’ll sprinkle salt, pepper and a couple dashes of oregano, followed by a layer of shredded cheese.

…and repeat! We usually do three or four layers until we get to the top. The number of layers you do will depend on the depth of your pan.

I always make shredded cheese the top layer and usually add a bit more, though here Juliana was a little generous earlier so we didn’t have as much for the end.  Once done, you’ll have used the full bag of cheese, all the ricotta, just about all of the sauce, and maybe 2/3 of the no bake noodles.

Pop the pan in the oven and you’re good to go. The lasagna will be HOT when it comes out, so I give it a few minutes to cool down before cutting and serving.

And that’s it! If you liked this post, I would absolutely love to know your favorite meal hacks…leave a comment below or send me a message on Instagram to let me know!

XO,

Terra

PS You all have seen this $35 silk scarf in my hair several times but I wore it as a belt here and kind of love it!

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Photos c/o Deeana Kourtney Photography