Lasagna is a family favorite, but a long list of ingredients and hours of preparation time usually mean it doesn't fit into the inexpensive or quick-cooking categories. That's not the case with this Easy Lasagna Florentine, the final recipe in my September series of budget-friendly family meals. You just need two bowls, a baking sheet and 15 minutes to get this lasagna into the oven.
No-boil noodles eliminate the tedious step of cooking lasagna noodles. When you use this type of noodle, however, you'll need a watery sauce to make sure they cook properly. My solution for the perfect sauce is to combine a can of spaghetti sauce (Hunts brand was used for testing purposes) with an undrained jar of Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes.
If you have picky eaters at home who won't stomach spinach, no matter how well hidden it is in layers of cheese and noodles, you can omit it from the recipe for a meatless lasagna. On the other hand, if your family demands meat, brown a pound of extra-lean ground beef and combine it with the sauce and tomatoes before layering with the other ingredients.
Lasagna freezes very well, so I like to freeze individual portions in plastic containers to take to work for lunch.
Add a tossed salad for a meal that comes in at $13.21.
Reach Karin Calloway in care of The Augusta Chronicle Newsroom, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, GA 30903, or at karin.calloway@comcast.net.
EASY LASAGNA FLORENTINE
Groceries
Cottage cheese: $1.99
Frozen chopped spinach: $1.19
Italian tomatoes: 89 cents
Spaghetti sauce: $1.39
Lasagna noodles: $1.50
Shredded mozzarella: $3
Romaine hearts: ($2.99 for 3, use 2)
1 cup grape tomatoes: ($2.50 package, use half)
TOTAL: $13.21
INGREDIENTS
1 15-ounce container reduced-fat or fat-free cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed of liquid
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 jar (about 26 ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
9 uncooked no-boil lasagna noodles
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic salt, pepper and 1 cup mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl. Set aside. Refrigerate the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.
Combine the spaghetti sauce and the diced tomatoes in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Spread heaping cup of the sauce in 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, half the spinach mixture and one cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat layers. Top with the last 3 noodles and the remaining sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
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