Easy Skillet Lasagna (or, as we like to call it, "Faux-sagna")

I think my absolute favorite thing to make is Lasagna al Forno from my awesome Italian cookbook.  It takes hours to cook and is one of the best things I've ever tasted.  It's fairly different from a more "traditional" American lasagna: no tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, or mozzarella (although I have been known to add tomato sauce and mozzarella on occasion).  Instead, the lasagna noodles are layered with Bolognese meat sauce seasoned with cinnamon, creamy Bechamel sauce, and parmesan.  It's a very involved and time-consuming recipe, which is one reason it's so much fun to make - the other reason is that the end result is fantastic.  This is what I think of when I think of lasagna...

The following recipe is nothing like that... but it is very good, and super easy, and fairly quick.  I don't know when I will next have the time to make "real" lasagna, so until then, this is a darn good substitute.  Matt and I have taken to calling it "Faux-sagna."  Don't let the name fool you though - this tastes as good as any "real" layered American lasagna, and is far less time consuming.

Easy Skillet Lasagna, or "Faux-sagna"
(modified from this recipe)

• about 6 oz lasagna noodles, broken into thirds
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey or beef (optional)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 small (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh parsley
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese mashed with a fork until creamy)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 5-6 basil leaves, chopped

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  When they are finished, drain, leave in the strainer, and set aside for later.

While the pasta is cooking, brown ground meat (if using) in a large skillet.  Drain fat from cooked meat and set aside.  I wipe down the skillet with a paper towel before continuing, but probably if you didn't it would be fine and might add a little richer flavor from the meat.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet, then cook onions over medium-high heat until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, then stir in ground meat.

While the mixture is simmering, rinse the lasagna noodles in the strainer in hot water and separate any that have stuck together.  Add the noodles to the skillet and stir into the mixture well.  Drop small scoops of the ricotta or cottage cheese around the skillet on top of the mixture.  Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella, parmesan, and basil.  *Do not stir after this point!*  Simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.  The tomato sauce will bubble to the top in places while it simmers; when it does, poke around the lasagna with a wooden spoon to get the cheese mixed a little further down so it will melt better, but *Do Not Stir!*  You want the cheese layer on top, not mixed in.  I didn't try this, but you could also let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then put the skillet under the broiler until the cheese is melted.

When the mixture is thick and all of the cheese is warmed through and melted, you're done!  Serve with a spatula or a large spoon and enjoy the easy, cheesy goodness!


I love this recipe! :) It satisfies my craving for lasagna without requiring me to spend all afternoon in the kitchen.  Although, after writing above about how incredible Lasagna al Forno is, I find myself drooling over it now... I just might have to make Matt watch Elliot for the afternoon one of these weekends and make some "real" lasagna again!  If I do, I'll be sure to post about it and share the recipe here.

Ropa Vieja

I've been cooking a lot of crock pot recipes lately because they tend to have a very high taste to effort ratio (that's how Matt categorizes food preparation), and with a 6 1/2 month old crawling around (yes, I said crawling!), recipes with minimal effort are ideal!  Plus you have the added bonus of smelling it all day, which makes me very excited to eat it when dinner comes around.  Luckily Jeremy & Lindsay gave me an awesome crock pot cookbook for Christmas last year and I've been making very good use of it over the past 6 months.  The book is Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea and pretty much everything I've made from it has been terrific.

Last night's meal, Ropa Vieja, was no exception!  Ropa Vieja is Spanish for "old clothes," which may not sound very appetizing but it is!  The smell and the flavor reminded me of something and it took me a little while to figure out what - it reminds me a little of barbacoa from Chipotle, which makes me think this would also be wonderful in burritos.

This is in the crock pot after a few hours of cooking.  (I guess
I should have taken the lid off for the photo so it would
have come out a little more clear.)

And here is the finished product, with the meat and veggies
all mixed together like old clothes in the wash!

Ropa Vieja

• 1 Tbsp (tablespoon) ground cumin
• 1 tsp (teaspoon) smoked paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 pounds beef or pork stew meat or roast (get what's on sale: I used beef chuck shoulder roast)
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 yellow apples, peeled and grated (I'm not sure why it calls for yellow apples specifically; I used empire apples I had and it worked out great)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Use a 6-quart slow cooker.  Combine the cumin, paprika, salt, and peppers in a bowl.  Rub the spice mixture all over the piece (or pieces) or meat you are using.  Put the meat into the stoneware.  Dump any extra spice left in the bowl on top.  Add the vegetables, garlic, cilantro, grated apples, chicken broth, and vinegar.  Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork - the meat and vegetables should be shredded and fully intertwined.  The longer and slower you cook this, the better.  Serve over brown or white rice, with a ladle full of broth.

*I'll add one more note about the meat:  The roast I used had a layer of fat on the top and bottom and I figured it would melt during cooking.  It didn't and I ended up pulling out a few fairly large ribbons of fat before I served this.  It might be worth attempting to cut the fat off ahead of time if it's a thick layer like it was on mine.

Ragout of Lentils, Turkey Meatballs, and Mint

Now, in most cases, ground turkey seems to be one of those “meh-schmeh” kinds of meat. Don’t get me wrong—I love a good turkey burger—but I’m not generally racing to my kitchen because I have ground turkey in the fridge. This recipe has changed all of that. It not only tastes wonderful, but it also uses ingredients that I almost always have on hand.  

First of all, however, I have to make an embarrassing confession of an action not befitting any sort of erudite housewife.  I have looked at and made several “ragout” recipes. But, somehow, I never realized it was a French term, pronounced “ra-goo”.  Yes, I have indeed been reading “rag-out,” as in, “I need to wring this rag out.” I always felt it to be a bit rustic, but in a world of gumbo and hash (as in, country chicken hash, of course), what’s odd about a rag-out?  Somehow, along the way, Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag started playing in my mind and I subconsciously formed a whole etymology of “rag-out.” In my opinion (because clearly, these sort of things can be based on opinion), a rag-out is a colloquialism combining “rag-tag,” and pulling everything thing out of your pantry. It’s a  mishmash where you throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that—whatever you have on hand—and simmer it together into warm, home-y goodness.

Now, to turn my faux pas into an educational experience, I ask,  what is a ragout? According to the Food Network, a ragout is “A derivative of the French verb ragoûter, meaning "to stimulate the appetite," ragoût is a thick, rich, well-seasoned stew of meat, poultry or fish that can be made with or without vegetables."  

I guess I wasn’t so far off. Nonetheless, this is has been the most eventful enunciatory epiphany I’ve had since the fifth grade, when I realized that “ron-day-voo” and “ren-dez-vous” were the same word. I need to learn French, but not knowing it definitely provides an opportunity to laugh and not take myself so seriously. 

Now, here is this wonderful recipe.

Ragout of Lentils, Turkey Meatballs and Mint

(This is from the Williams and Sonoma Beans and Rice Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, lamb or beef)

1 c. bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic minced, (you need 4 cloves in all, however)

3 T. fresh mint for meatballs, (5 T for garnish at the end)

2 T. fresh parsley,

1 t. paprika,

¾ t. ground cumin,

½ t. ground cloves,

¼ t. cayenne pepper

¾ t. salt

½ t. pepper.

¼ c. olive oil

1 chopped small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small diced carrot

1 c. lentils

1 can whole plum tomatoes, juiced reserved and tomatoes chopped

4 c. chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients from ground turkey to pepper. Make 24 meatballs and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside.

2.Warm ¼ c. olive oil in large sauté pan. Add chopped small onion, diced carrot, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté until onion is soft over medium heat. Add lentils, 1 c. reserved juice from can of whole plum tomatoes and chicken stock. Simmer until lentils are tender, around 20 min.

3. Chop tomatoes, add them and reserved meatballs to the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Season to taste. Garnish with 5 T. mint.