Skillet Lasagna

Monday nights I take a class and I need to leave home by 5:45.  I need to have dinner made and kids eating before I leave, so I usually like to have something quick and easy. Recently, I started making my way through the Skillet Meals chapter in my America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook.  This lasagna will be the fourth skillet meal I've made within the past month.

Let's put it this way, this lasagna was so good and easy to make, I may never make one in the oven again. In less than one hour, I started to make the meal, photographed it, and had it on the table.  One thing I don't like about making lasagna is that the noodles always stick together and rip when cooked and you are trying to layer them.  Even if you use the non-cook noodles, you still have to layer and it just takes time.  Even a novice can make this and have it taste good too.

The hardest thing in the recipe was dicing the onion- seriously!  If you've never made lasagna before, or are intimidated by it, I'd suggest you give this a try.  It's going to be added to our family's regular meal rotation, that's for sure!

Skillet Lasagna:

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (I only had crushed, so that's what I used)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
pinch red pepper flakes
10 lasagna noodles (broken into 2 inch segments)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef
3 TBSP fresh basil (I used a few tsp dried)

1) Put diced tomatoes in a 4 cup measuring bowl.  Add water until it reaches the 4 cup mark- set aside.

2) Heat olive oil in 12 inch skillet.  Add in diced onion and salt, then saute until shiny, about 4-5 minutes.  Add in minced garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Mix in ground beef, and saute over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

3) Place broken lasagna noodles on top of beef.  Pour the diced tomato/water mix on top of the noodles, and then add in the tomato sauce.  Cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes over medium low heat.  Stir occasionally.

4) Remove from heat, add in all but 3-4 TBSP of parmesan cheese, mix to combine.  Drop spoonfuls of ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna, sprinkle with basil, and serve topped with a sprinkle of the remaining parmesan cheese.