Quick & Easy Lasagna for TWO

Matt's birthday was this past Sunday!

When Matt was little, his family had a tradition where they could request whatever meal they wanted for their birthday dinner. 

Matt always requested lasagna, sweet potato casserole, and corn. #carbaholic #weweremeanttobetogether

And while he no longer requests the same sides to go along with the main dish, lasagna is still one of his favorite meals.

The only problem with making lasagna this past Sunday was that our day was so busy between leaving my mom's Christmas celebration that morning and having brunch with Matt's family and visiting with Santa that afternoon. Oh, and Ryan hit.a.wall from his night of partying and didn't know what he wanted from the day but it wasn't anything we were offering. ;)

Matt was so great to let us fill his birthday to the brim with Christmas activities, so I was not about to skimp on his birthday dinner. I just had to get a little creative on how to make a lasagna with the minimal amount of time I knew I would get from my sweet but exhausted 16 month old.

So I sent Matt to LA Fitness (a workout was one of the few things he wanted to do on his birthday... he's crazy like that) ;) and Ryan and I took a quick run to the store while I kept my fingers crossed that the plan in my head for a simplified lasagna for two would turn out to be delicious.

You guys. Let's pretend for a second like I wasn't the one who made it or like it's not weird for me to toot my own horn about a meal I made.

This was GOOD!

Like I'm not sure I'm going to make it the more complicated way ever again.

Total prep time was maybe 25 minutes max.

And while I'm calling it a lasagna for TWO, my hubby can eat like a champ, so I think this could easily serve 3-4 no problem.

Ingredients:

One Box- Ronzoni Oven-Ready Lasagna sheets 

(make sure you get the kind that aren't flat... lasagna noodles are meant to have a wave!)

2- 24 oz. Jars Ragu Sautéed Onions and Garlic Sauce (looks like this)

1- 14.5oz Can Hunt's Diced Tomato with Sweet Onion (looks like this)

1lb- Mild Italian Sausage

1- 16oz Container Polly-O Ricotta Cheese, part skim (looks like this)

2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 Container Fresh Mozzarella (I used Gioioso Bocconcini- looks like this)- approx 7 oz (buy the container with the larger balls that can be sliced, not the pearls)

1/4 tsp salt

1T dried parsley

1 egg

Directions:

Brown sausage in a large skillet. Drain, rinse and return to pan. Add sauce and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat.

While sauce is simmering, combine ricotta, shredded mozzarella, egg, salt and parsley. Mix well.

Pour a scoop of sauce into an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking dish until the bottom is covered. 

Cover 3 lasagna sheets with the ricotta mixture (you will cover 9 total sheets with the mixture so divide accordingly) and lay them over the sauce, overlapping each one slightly so they fit.

Repeat previous step twice until three layers of lasagna sheets (9 total sheets) have been stacked.

Cover top layer with 3 more lasagna sheets (no ricotta mixture on these sheets... your mixture should be gone) and cover liberally with sauce, reserving enough sauce for dipping once the lasagna is served (there should be plenty left).

Slice the mozzarella balls and lay them on top of the sauce, as shown in the picture.

Cover and bake on 350 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. If you want your cheese browned, broil for 2-3 minutes.

Garnish with parsley and parmesan.



Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

You can check out other recipes I've shared here.

Tonight, we're checking off one of our 12 Days of Christmas Fun activities and heading to the Botanical Gardens Night of Lights. I can't wait to see Ryan's reaction as we walk through all of the lights and decorations!