I used to go to a lot of trouble to make lasagna years ago and was so happy when they came out with no boil noodles. Still, lasagna was a pretty time consuming meal for me. A cashier at Top Foods asked me one day, "Do you want to know an even easier way to make lasagna?"
"Frozen cheese ravioli."
OK, so it's not technically lasagna anymore ,but it tastes just like it and it's so easy! Since there is ricotta in the ravioli, you can skip that step. I used to have to slice the mozzarella too so it was easier to spread the ricotta on top, but now I can just buy a big bag of shredded mozzarella from Costco and then use it again for making pizza. I still make a meat sauce myself, but all you do after that is a layer of ravioli, sauce, cheese, ravioli, sauce, cheese, little more sauce on top, and then some parmesan on top of that. Use your favorite sauce if you like, but here is the recipe my mom uses.
Meat Sauce
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1 large can (28 oz.) stewed tomatoes (I use crushed in puree instead)
1 can tomato sauce
1 packet of Spaghetti sauce mix (I use McCormick's thick and zesty mix)
1 tsp. garlic powder
Brown the ground beef, add all of the other ingredients, and let it simmer 5-10 minutes in the pan. Turn it on low unless you like sauce exploding everywhere.
Baked Ravioli
1 bag Costco Cheese Ravioli (you will be able to make it twice and have some leftover)
Meat Sauce
2-3 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
Grated Parmesan cheese
In a 9x13 casserole dish, drizzle a little olive oil or spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom. Add a layer of frozen ravioli, sauce, cheese, repeat, add more sauce, and then sprinkle parmesan on top.
Bake covered with foil at 350 for 45 minutes and then uncovered for another 5-10 minutes. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Is it cheaper to make lasagna the old fashioned way? Possibly. But one thing I have learned in my quest to budget is that I have to have some easy meals or I will cave and order pizza when things get hectic.
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