Receta Renee's Microwave Lasagna
Did you catch the title? Yes, you do cook this in the microwave, and it is very good.
I've been making lasagna this way for years, ever since my next door neighbor and friend Renee brought one over to us. She was doing the neighborly thing, bringing us an already made dinner as we were going through something difficult at the time, and needed a good home cooked meal. I made the mistake of buying a pre-made lasagna a few weeks back and was a little dismayed at how much many noodles were in there, and how 'dry' it was. The flavour was good, but...
It just wasn't home made.
Since I made some lovely spaghetti sauce the other day, and a lasagna had been requested as a meal, I decided to put one together. I like a stacked up high lasagna, one that has multiple layers of goodness, cause that's the way Renee made it, and I'm not going to argue with something that tasted so good.
There are a couple of steps you need to take first. Apart from pulling out the right size casserole dish from the back of the cupboard, that is.
Mix the can of Diced tomatoes in with the Spaghetti Sauce. This makes it extra saucy and helps the no-boil noodles to cook. I use a combination of grated Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone Cheese and eggs for for the cheese layers, I will use some Ricotta or small curd cottage cheese mixed in with it as well. You can also use the grated Italian Cheese blend from the store. Just add an egg or two to the mixture, it helps to bind it together.
Pictures first, then the detailed instructions.
Casserole dish with first layer of sauce
Lasagna Noodle spread with cheese mixture
Noodles layered on top of sauce
Next up, more sauce, continuing until it reaches 1/2 inch from top. (need some space for bubbling sauce, cause otherwise it kind of ummm, bubbles over and then you have a mess to clean up. Please learn from my mistakes.
Ready for the Pepperoni and then the Cheese, you can see some pepperoni poking out from under the cheese to the left. Then is the final layer of cheese Ready to serve, after a suitable resting period of course. After it's been attacked by two hungry people. Here's how I do it.
yield: 2-4 Servings Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from Renee and Fred Wix Gabby Gourmet)print recipe
Microwave Lasagna ala Renee
prep time: 10 MINS cook time: 40 MINS total time: 50 mins
This is a quick to put together lasagna, ready in less than an hour and perfect for weeknight or weekend meals.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups prepared Spaghetti Sauce (Home made or not)
1/2 package No-Cook Lasagna Noodles (I prefer Barilla)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes in sauce, no salt variety
3 cups shredded Mozzarella, divided 8 oz. Whole Milk Mozzarella ball, sliced 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 egg
1 cup Ricotta Cheese (can also use small curd Cottage Cheese
1 cup shredded Provolone Cheese
6-8 slices of thin Sliced Pepperoni INSTRUCTION
Here's how I do it.
First off, get out a deep casserole dish out of the cupboard. Spray it with some non stick cooking spray. (I hate chiseling off stuff, so I make sure I spray it well.
Mix the spaghetti sauce with the can of diced tomatoes. Set aside. Mix together 2 cups shredded Mozzarella, 1 cup Provolone Cheese, the Ricotta Cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan and the egg. This is the Cheese filling. Get your cheese filling ready, your sauce and no boil noodles.
Place a layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish, then a layer of noodles, a layer of cheese, more sauce, noodles, cheese and sauce. Although I did discover a trick this last time I made it. I spread a layer of cheese on the stiff lasagna noodle and then placed it, cheese side down on top of the sauce. It was so much easier to layer it. Place in the microwave at 70% power for 20 minutes. Zap it for another 10-15 minutes at 80% power.
Add a layer of Pepperoni Slices, then add some sliced Mozzarella or the rest of the cheese mixture, then zap at 80 % power for another 5 minutes or so, at least until the cheese is melted. Pull out of the microwave and let set for 10 minutes, cut and serve.
* The Pepperoni slices were not original to the recipe, I got the idea from a lasagna a friend made once, the Pepperoni adds a lovely touch. ** You can also bake this in the oven, bake at 350 deg. for 1 hour.
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