Many folks want recipes that don't require a laundry list of ingredients and are quick to pull together. Lasagna is typically not one of those dishes. But today's recipe for Cheater's Lasagna is.
What makes this unique and quick is using large store-bought, cheese-filled ravioli in place of lasagna noodles. The pillows of cheese in the ravioli take the place of adding ricotta cheese and pasta layers. You can use square or round ravioli. But using the largest ravioli you can works best.
Cheater's Lasagna With Italian Sausage
1 (24- to 26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
2 (18- to 24-ounce) bags frozen large or jumbo cheese ravioli, partially thawed
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 (16-ounce) package frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese or mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Spoon one-third of the pasta sauce into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Place half the ravioli on top of the sauce in a single layer; squeeze them in if necessary. Sprinkle with the cooked sausage, the spinach and half the cheese. Layer on the remaining ravioli. Top with the remaining sauce, remaining cheese and Parmesan. Cover with foil that has underside sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until bubbling, 5 to 10 minutes more.
Makes 8 servings.
Recipe adapted from Real Simple Meals Made Easy by Renee Schettler (Real Simple Book, $24.95)
Food on 06/17/2015