Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Skillet Lasagna

Or, Hamburger Helper Without the Box

I created my own variation on an America's Test Kitchen recipe this week. It was super easy, required very little hands on time, and Bracken has told me he would gladly eat it every week.

1 28 oz (or two 14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup dried minced onions
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 lb. hamburger
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. (10) curly edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Pour the tomatoes with their juice into quart measuring cup. Add enough water to make 4 cups.
Heat 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add hamburger, and cook until almost browned, breaking into small pieces. Add onions and cook until brown. Drain excess oil. Return pan to heat, and add garlic and Italian seasoning to cover meat, and cook until fragrant. Sprinkle with noodle pieces. Pour tomatoes and sauce evenly over noodles and meat. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. (The sauce should still look watery after 15 minutes of cooking. If dry, add up to 1/4 cup additionaly water to loosen sauce.) Remove skillet from the heat and stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional cheese to top.
PS Thanks for all the mixer tips. The jury is still out.

1 comment:

Sandy said...

We make a version of this in the crockpot (you probably had it at my parents house at some point) - pretty much throw all the lasagna ingredients (brown the meat first) in their for a few hours and let it do its thing (my mom pre-cooks the noodles...I don't and add more liquid). Either way -- lasagna is yummy and no-hassle, fast lasagna is even better:)