Loaf Pan Lasagna For Two Recipes

SMALLER LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Cook noodles and drain.
• Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet for a few minutes then add ground beef, oregano, basil salt and pepper and cook until beef is browned, breaking up any clumped meat. Stir in marinara sauce and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, making sure sauce doesn't get too thick.
• In a small bowl, whisk together a lightly beaten egg with ricotta and parmesan.
• In the bottom of a loaf pan, place about 1 cup meat sauce across the bottom. Top with two noodles, then top with half of the remaining meat sauce mixture. Top with another two noodles and the ricotta mixture. Top with the last two noodles and the remaining sauce. Layer mozzarella slices across the top.
• Loosely tent pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake another ten minutes, allowing cheese to brown.
• Let sit for about 10-15 minutes before you cut into it.

LOAF PAN LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and saute until the onion is translucent and softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and use a wooden spoon to break it into pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the oregano and cook 1 minute. Stir in the marinara and let simmer while you make the ricotta mixture.
• Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl. Stir in the ricotta, parsley, basil, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan until combined.
• Begin to layer the lasagna, spread 2 tablespoons marinara sauce evenly over the bottom of an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover with 1 lasagna noodle. Spread on 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture followed by 1/2 cup marinara sauce. Top with another noodle. Repeat layering 4 more times, ending with the sauce. Top the final layer with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until the noodles are tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LOAF PAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add some salt. Cook the lasagna noodles until al dente, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, then lay out flat on the wrapped baking sheet until ready to assemble.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet or saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, beef and garlic and cook until the meat is browned completely, about 5 minutes. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat (if needed), add the tomato paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and crush with a spoon. Add the basil, 1 tablespoon of the parsley and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, add the cottage cheese, ricotta, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan, 2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and mix together well. Set aside.
• Before or during assembly, cut or tear the lasagna sheets in half crosswise.
• To assemble each loaf pan: Add just enough meat sauce (about 1/4 cup) to cover the bottom of each of three 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch aluminum foil loaf pans. Layer 4 half lasagna sheets, overlapping, over the sauce on each. Top with 1/2 cup of the cottage cheese mixture, spread evenly. Top with 3 slices mozzarella, then 1/2 cup meat sauce, then 4 half lasagna sheets, overlapping. Top with 1/2 cup cottage cheese mixture, spread evenly, 3 slices mozzarella and 1/2 cup meat sauce. Finish with 4 half lasagna sheets, overlapping, 1/2 cup meat sauce and 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan. The lasagnas can be baked right away, covered in foil and refrigerated for up to 2 days or wrapped in foil and frozen.
• If baking right away, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the loaf pan on a baking sheet and bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve with a couple of slices of ciabatta or baguette and cherry tomatoes tossed in basil.
• If baking from frozen, put the loaf pan on a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Mix ricotta, egg, Parmesan and parsley.
• Place 2 noodles in bottom of 9x5-inch loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray, trimming noodles as necessary to fit; reserve trimmings. Cover noodles with layers of 1/4 each of the pasta sauce, ricotta mixture and mozzarella. Repeat all layers twice. Top with layers of the reserved noodle trimmings, remaining sauce, ricotta mixture and mozzarella.
• Bake 30 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

LOAF PAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Yes, I said 400 degrees.)
• 2. In a (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and onions. Cook until the ground beef is lightly browned, then drain off the grease.
• 3. Place the cooked ground beef and onion back in the skillet, then and the garlic, salt, and pepper.
• 4. Now add the crushed red pepper flakes, and continue cooking for at least 30 seconds.
• 5. Now stir in the diced tomatoes (along with the juice), the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, then set pan aside.
• 6. In a bowl, combine together, the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, and the egg.
• 7. To assemble the lasagna, spread ½ cup of the meat sauce in the baking pan.
• 8. Spread ⅓ of the cottage cheese mixture on top 2 of the Lasagna noodle, and lay on top of the meat sauce (side by side).
• 9. Repeat this layering 2 more times, making sure you end up with enough meat sauce and mozzarella cheese for the top layer.
• 10. When you lay the last noodle down, you will have no more cottage cheese mixture left.
• 11. Place the remaining meat sauce on top of the dry noodles.
• 12. Mix together the 1/4 cup of remaining mozzarella cheese with 2 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle cheese mixture on top.
• 13. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with a bit of non-stick olive oil cooking spray.
• 14. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
• 15. Remove the aluminum foil, and continue baking until the cheese is lightly brown on top. (I baked mine for 10 minutes, then removed pan from the oven.)
• 16. Let cool for 10 minutes out of the oven before slicing the Lasagna. (This made 4 to 5 servings.)
• 17. *Note: When it came to placing the Lasagna Noodles in the baking pan, I needed to break off 1-inch of each lasagna noodle, in order for them to fit inside the pan.

SPINACH LASAGNA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Mix pasta sauce and water until blended. Combine egg, spinach, ricotta and Parmesan in separate bowl. Break 9-inch piece off each noodle. Reserve all noodle pieces for lasagna assembly.
• Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce mixture onto bottom of 9x5-inch loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of 2 long noodle pieces, 1/3 of the spinach mixture and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with layers of the remaining (small) noodle pieces, pasta sauce mixture and shredded cheese.
• Bake 45 to 50 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 to 10 min. before cutting to serve.

POLENTA LASAGNA LOAF

Steps:

• Prepare polenta: Bring water and salt to a boil over high heat. Whisk polenta into the boiling water and continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until polenta is soft and has lost its grainy texture, 25 to 40 minutes.
• Remove polenta from the stove and quickly whisk in butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Transfer polenta to a silicone baking liner (or oiled foil or parchment paper). Spread it out evenly almost to the edges into an 8x13-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and smooth out the top with your hands. Place a baking sheet on top and press slightly to further flatten.
• Slide the silicone liner and polenta onto the baking sheet and place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
• Remove polenta from the refrigerator and cut, from one long edge to the other, into 8-inch long strips.
• Prepare filling: Stir ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, salt, pepper, cayenne, egg, and parsley in a bowl until well combined.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan with 1 tablespoon oil.
• Place one strip of polenta into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Spread 1/3 of the filling on top as evenly as you can. Top with about 1 cup hot meat sauce. Repeat polenta-filling-sauce layers twice more. Place the last piece of polenta on top, then gently shake and tap the pan to settle the contents. Place the loaf pan on top of a sheet pan to catch any spills while baking. Loosely wrap the top of the loaf pan with foil, making sure it's not touching the polenta.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven, discard foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
• Divide onto 6 plates. Garnish with parsley and serve with additional sauce.