Skillet Lasagna

Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food.  Everyone loves it.  How could you not?  Meat, good.  Sauce, good.  Pasta, good.  Cheese, good.  Put it all together, great!  The only bad thing about lasagna is that it's a lot of work to make.  The prep time is pretty long, not to mention the time it takes to bake in the oven.  So, I like to make skillet lasagna.  You get all those great flavors, but it takes a fraction of the time to make.

SKILLET LASAGNA

1 link Italian sausage, casing removed
1 lb ground beef
1/2 an onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce (any spaghetti sauce you like)
1/2 cup water
1 TBS sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (shredded or cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb Rotini pasta (the curly springs)
salt/pepper
a few leaves of fresh basil

First, put a big pot of water on to boil.  That way it will be ready when you want to cook the pasta.

Remove the casing from the sausage link (just cut it lengthwise and pull the casing off).  In a big skillet, brown the ground beef and the sausage with the onion and garlic.  Use your spoon to break up the ground beef and sausage while it browns.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once it's browned, drain off excess grease.

Add the sauce, water and sugar.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  It will reduce and thicken a bit.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente (that just means not too mushy; it should still have a little bite to it).  I use Rotini because the curly springs remind me of the curly ends of lasagna noodles.


Stir the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses into the meat sauce until well mixed.

Add the drained, hot pasta to the meat sauce and stir gently to mix.

Tear the fresh basil leaves into small pieces.  Garnish the skillet lasagna with the torn fresh basil.

See how easy that was?  And fast, too.  You could totally make this on a busy weeknight.  It's even faster than a frozen lasagna!  Plus, it makes a ton.  I fed my family of 4 plus two friends and still had leftovers!  This one's a winner.  Enjoy!