Snow day lasagne

I’ve always tried to avoid making lasagne.  It’s such a production: make the sauce, shred the cheese, boil and drain the noodles, layer the whole thing, and finally bake it.

But it’s such a cozy meal on a cold day.

So I took a page from my mother’s book and made a “cheater” version of homemade lasagne, with no-boil noodles and jarred sauce.  It turns out it’s just as good, but so much easier!

Getting the ingredients was the hardest part of the job.  With temperatures expected to hit -15F for the high last Monday in Chicago, the grocery stores were jam-packed and the shelves were starting to empty over the weekend.  (I managed to snag the last box of no-boil noodles!)

Choose your sauce wisely – the whole beauty of this dish is that you don’t have to worry about seasoning and tweaking a sauce!  Personally, I like the kind with roasted garlic.

Similarly, get good sausage – I used plain old Italian chicken sausages, but my mom gets absolutely delicious ones from the Central Market butcher counter, like chicken sausage with black pepper and artichoke.

Some fresh spinach adds color and a dash of healthfulness, making this lasagne a balanced meal – perfect for eating while snowbound!

***

Cheater lasagne

3 chicken sausages, removed from casing
24 or 25.5 oz jar tomato sauce*
15 oz part-skim ricotta
1 large egg
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1 box no-boil lasagne noodles
1 5 oz package of baby spinach
Red pepper flakes (optional)

*Use one and a half jars if you’d like extra sauce!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set out a 9×13 inch baking dish.

Saute sausage in a large pot with a tablespoon or so of oil, breaking up the meat.  Add red pepper flakes, if using.  Pour in tomato sauce; add water to the jar (about a third full) and shake, then add to the pot as well.  Bring to a simmer, then set aside.

Soak noodles in a shallow dish with boiling water to cover.

Mix ricotta, egg, Parmesan, and 1/3 cup of the shredded mozzarella.  Add freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt.

Layer the lasagne.  You’ll just need enough noodles for 3 layers.  Divide the ricotta for 3 layers, the sauce for 3 (excluding the bottom layer), and the spinach for 2.  (Depending on the depth of your baking dish, you may not want to use all the spinach, since it’s quite bulky before cooking.)

Here’s the order I used:

• A ladle or two of sauce, just enough to cover the bottom of the dish
• Noodles
• Ricotta mixture
• Spinach
• Sauce
• Noodles
• Ricotta
• Spinach
• Sauce
• Noodles
• Ricotta
• Sauce
• Remaining mozzarella