Petite Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Spray medium nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add ground beef, onion, and bell pepper (if using).
• Cook and stir until browned; drain. Reduce heat to low; stir in mushrooms and spaghetti sauce. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley and egg; mix well.
• Cut 1 of the lasagna noodles in half lengthwise.
• Spread 1/4 cup meat mixture in bottom of ungreased 9*5-inch (2 quart) loaf baking dish.
• Top with 1 1/2 lasagna noodles, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, 1/2 the remaining meat mixture and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese.
• Repeat layers, starting with noodles and ending with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350ºF for 30 to 35 minutes or until thoroughtly heated and bubbly.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg; set aside. Spread 1/3 cup sauce in an 8x4-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Top with one noodle. Spread 1/3 cup sauce to edges of noodle. Top with a third of reserved cheese mixture and 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodle and sauce., Cover and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a loaf pan (8 or 9 inch).
• Cook noodles according to package directions.
• While noodles are cooking, brown beef, onions, garlic and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Drain grease from pan.
• Stir in mushrooms and spaghetti sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a small bowl combine egg, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and Italian seasoning until well blended. Pepper to taste.
• Spread 1/4 cup of meat mixture in prepared loaf pan.
• Trim noodles to fit pan (I just used 6 noodles and did not use trimmed pieces). Place two noodles over sauce.
• Layer with 1/3 of cheese mixture.
• Layer with 1/3 of remaining sauce.
• Layer with 1/3 of Italian Blend Cheese.
• Repeat layers twice, using noodles trimmings for one noodle.
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
• Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.