Easy Individual Lasagna (20 min. or less; almost no prep!)

You can make this yummy lasagna in ~15-20 minutes pretty much right out of the freezer/fridge/pantry to the oven! You basically just put things in a dish and into the oven and then yummy lasagna! While this is an individual size lasagna, you could multiply it and then increase the bake time -- but the minimal to no prep work idea is the same.

I came up with this because I wanted to experiment with what would happen if I took frozen spinach -- just out of the freezer (without reheating it) and put it in the lasagna. In other recipes, I mention that you should thaw and pat dry spinach with paper towels, but here the moisture which comes with reheating frozen spinach is a benefit because it helps cook the noodles.

Here's a post on frozen spinach:

https://www.wearegoodatthis.com/post/sneaking-in-spinach-to-be-healthy-ugh-the-invention-rise-of-the-frozen-food-industry

July 29th is Lasagna Day!

"The best way to join in National Lasagna Day on July 29th is to bake up a pan of the Italian pasta dish. Another way to celebrate is by getting a table at your favorite Italian restaurant. 

Due to lasagna’s broad noodles, the pasta lends itself to layering. A variety of ingredients such as cheeses, meats, vegetables, and sauces create a delicious blend of savory baked layers. For individual servings, roll similar elements into the pasta noodles."

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-lasagna-day-july-29/

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What I used:

- Barilla Oven-Ready lasagna noodles

-- I only used 1 noodle broken in half (one piece for top and one piece for bottom; you can add more layers if you want)

- 1/2 Italian sausage (which was defrosted in the microwave for ~1 minute until soft -- but not cooked. I did defrost the whole sausage and then used half for this portion)

- Ricotta cheese

- Frozen spinach (right out of the package, no cooking)

- Marinara sauce

- Garlic Powder

- Onion powder

- Mozzarella cheese

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.) In your dish, put a little marinara sauce down. You do not need to boil the noodles, but it helps if there is moisture to cook the noodles.

3.) Break 1 noodle in half and put 1 half down. If your dish is bigger, you can put 1 whole noodle down if you would like. If the noodle breaks into pieces that's fine :), just put half down on top of the marinara sauce.

4.) Put your filling in there: sausage, ricotta, frozen spinach, garlic powder, onion powder, a little marinara sauce.

5.) Put the other half noodle down and cover with marinara sauce.

6.) Cover with mozzarella cheese.

7.) Bake for ~15 minutes or until everything is warm and cheese is melt-y.

- The sausage will cook in the oven and so will the spinach.

That's it! So good! It tastes like it tastes a lot longer to cook! :)

Give it a try! We are good at this!