Ok, let me start off by apologizing… fish tacos keep getting bumped off the menu! First there was my lazy night, then the other night when I was SET on making them (Tuesday), Matt was battling a tiny bit of food poisoning from lunch that day and the thought of fish made him even sicker (usually its me saying that, not him!). So that night I made a BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and, my current obsession, avocado) and a baked potato (my current obsession #2). Last night was obedience class for one of our dogs, Rex, so I usually just scrap dinner plans that night. Fish tacos have been tentatively scheduled for early next week… keep an eye out!
Tonight was a super easy dinner that I’ve had my eye on for a while. I love lasagna, but it always seems like so much work to me. This was the PERFECT solution! Lasagna + stovetop + one pan = yum! Here goes:
Stovetop Lasagna
1 jar of marinara sauce (or any red sauce of your choice)
2 cups of water
10 lasagna noodles, uncooked & broken into 2 inch lengths
1 lb of ground turkey (or beef. The original recipe called for hot Italian turkey sausage, but I just wanted something mild)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used dried and it came out great)
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
Brown the ground turkey in a deep pan until it is no longer pink. Add in the sauce, water and garlic and bring to a boil on medium heat. Stir in the noodles, and cover and cook for 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat.
While the noodles are cooking in the meat sauce, combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and pepper in a bowl (I had to add about a tablespoon of milk to make it a little smoother).
Scoop the cheese mixture on top of the noodles and simmer gently for 5 more minutes until the cheese is heated through. Sprinkle a little more Parmesan on top and serve with some warm, crusty bread!
Cost breakdown: This one wasn’t too bad! Remember, this is only a count of what I didn’t have on hand. Jar of marinara sauce, $3; lasagna noodles, $3; ground turkey, $4; ricotta, $3; mozzarella, $3 = $16. (I always have Parmesan cheese and garlic on hand!)
This was a really, really good and easy dinner! And was just as good as lasagna out of the oven! The only thing it was missing was the crispy, brown cheese on top, but you could easily put this together on the stove in an oven-safe pan or Dutch oven and broil it for a minute. Highly recommended!
Happy Dishing!
~Des
Dishing with Des 