LAST MINUTE LASAGNA from Real Simple magazine [Archive]

Susan

02-05-2002, 08:33 AM

This recipe was featured on the Today Show this morning. I'm going to try it! I was thinking of adding some meat/sausage ravioli too.

~Susan~

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LAST MINUTE LASAGNA

You, a spontaneous entertainer? Never. But you may change your mind with this lasagna, which you can whip together for the neighborhood basketball team in the fourth quarter with time to spare. Using cheese ravioli instead of traditional lasagna noodles condenses three steps into one: You don't have to boil the noodles or mix and layer the filling. Just build, bake, and serve.

hands-on time: 10 minutes

total time: 45 minutes

makes 6 servings

1 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
1 30-ounce bag frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 8-ounce bag shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 350� F. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce. Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.

� 2001 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

Check out the photo too: http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/meals/mls_lasagna_index_032002.html

Tiger

02-05-2002, 08:50 AM

What a great idea! And it looks yummy! This will be on next weeks menu. (I've been thinking of getting the Real Simple mag too) Thanks for the recipe!
I used to make a lasagna with eggnoodles, but this is better since the ravioli has cheese in it!

ElinorC

02-05-2002, 09:26 AM

Thanks a bunch! Just saw it this morning; thanks for posting.

Jodi

02-05-2002, 09:42 AM

Just got Real Simple in the mail this morning and drooled over this picture/recipe. It's definitely going to be on next week's menu for us, too!
Jodi

lweiss

02-05-2002, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by Susan

1 30-ounce bag frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed

This looks great. Instead of unthawed do you mean thawed? Or do you mean frozen?
Thanks for posting this.

Susan

02-05-2002, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by lweiss

This looks great. Instead of unthawed do you mean thawed? Or do you mean frozen?
Thanks for posting this.

frozen :)
The woman who was demonstrating the recipe on the Today Show emphasized this too. Al Roker was helping her and had fun flinging the frozen ravioli around. :D

Tiger

02-19-2002, 07:48 AM

Susan- Thanks for pointing out this recipe! It was soooooooo easy and fast to make. And it was really good. Even my picky 5yr old liked it! It's a good recipe for lent. It's a make-again!

Susan

02-19-2002, 08:36 AM

Glad you liked it, Tiger! I made it too, and it was a hit with my whole family. I agree that it was so easy to throw together! I am planning to make it to take to a potluck next. I am going to make it with square ravioli (I used the round ones before) this time since they were on sale this week. :D

~Susan~

pes

02-19-2002, 09:34 AM

I tried this too, after seeing the "Today" show. It was great, and even a spinach hater ( My stepson) loved it. - I just told him it was basil, and since he isn't that familiar with basil, he ate it. Great way to dress up frozen ravioli!

Karen M

02-19-2002, 10:40 AM

what a great idea! I'm surprised no one has ever thought of it. It makes perfect sense!

Tiger

02-19-2002, 03:04 PM

Karen- I thought the same thing. It does make perfect sense and I can't believe no one thought of it before eather. The cheese in the rav. saves from spreading the cheese mixture on the lasagna.

Susan- I just noticed you must live close to me. What town do you live in?

Susan

02-19-2002, 06:58 PM

Hi Tiger~
Just sent you a PM. :D

Linda in MO

03-04-2002, 11:45 AM

I made this last night and it was so easy and really tasty! I will definitely be making this again and it would be so easy to just keep the ingredients on hand. I used Sargento's Italian 6 cheese blend and just skipped the Parmesan. It was plenty cheesy enough without it. In the middle I sprinkled on some crushed Italian seasoning (salt-free) and added a very thin layer of turkey pepperoni. The pepperoni was good in this, but it probably wasn't necessary. I just had it in the fridge and added it on a whim. I also made a layer of sauce in the middle. The way I read the instructions it only tells you to put a layer on the bottom and on the top and I thought that was strange. I also had to bake it longer, but I had a pan of rolls baking right next to it, so this may have thrown the time off. Thanks for posting this, Susan! I'm getting ready to heat some up for lunch right now. :D

dmcgreevey

03-05-2002, 06:56 AM

I made this last week and we loved it. So simple, plus everyone loved it. I added turkey sausage to it. I also needed to cook it for longer than specified in the recipe, but it's worth the wait!

Susan

03-05-2002, 08:48 AM

I am so glad that so many are enjoying this recipe! I made this for a potluck recently and have been handing out the recipe ever since. I love reading about the additions you all have made to the recipe. I must write those down on my copy for future reference. Thanks for sharing! :D

~Susan~

Linda in MO

03-05-2002, 08:59 AM

I just thought I would report that the leftovers heated up great! When I bought the ingredients for this I bought some fresh mushrooms to add, but by the time I made it, the mushrooms were long gone. Next time I will try it with mushrooms though.

Searcher

03-05-2002, 10:22 AM

I've been drooling over this recipe too but I was wondering......what kind of store bought sauce do you use? I honestly think I've used store bought pasta sauce maybe 4 times in 36 years. Each wasn't horrible but they weren't really something I wanted to repeat. Is there a brand/type out there that's good?

gertdog

03-05-2002, 10:27 AM

I haven't made this particular lasagna recipe yet (although it's on the menu for next Sunday night so that DF will have lots of leftovers to take back to Philly with him). But the bottled sauce I like best is the Classico Tomato Basil. Nice and thick, nothing fancy, but good flavor. I also like Classico's Four Cheese Marinara, but that one's too high in fat for me to eat regularly.

I used to like Five Brothers but lately it's tasted extremely sweet to me.

Linda in MO

03-05-2002, 10:44 AM

I like Barilla, but I always add extra seasonings, etc. to my jarred sauce.

Susan

03-05-2002, 11:20 AM

I usually use Barilla sauces too but happened to use Newman's Own Sockarooni pasta sauce (tomatoes, red and green peppers & spices) when I've made this -yum! It was on sale and I had a coupon so I thought I would try it. Glad I did!

~Susan~

kima

03-05-2002, 11:46 AM

This looks like just kind of dish I need right now (life has gone crazy on me!!). But believe it or not I can't find frozen ravioli here! So should I buy fresh and freeze it???:confused: TIA ,
Maureen (who is not afraid to show her ignorance!!!:D ).

gertdog

03-05-2002, 12:10 PM

Originally posted by kima
This looks like just kind of dish I need right now (life has gone crazy on me!!). But believe it or not I can't find frozen ravioli here! So should I buy fresh and freeze it???:confused: TIA ,
Maureen (who is not afraid to show her ignorance!!!:D ).

I wonder if you would even need to freeze it. Just reduce the cooking time by a bit? I am guessing that they specify frozen ravioli b/c it tends to be cheaper than fresh, plus you could keep it for a long time in the freezer and it would be there when you decide to make this dish.

And I'm guessing that they specify "unthawed" in the recipe largely because that's one less step for you to complete!

Just my thoughts... ;)

Tiger

03-05-2002, 04:57 PM

Gertdog- I believe you're right. The idea of the recipe is EASY. So using frozen rav. is convient. I think fresh would be fine.
My cousin, who is a veggie hater, made it using ground beef. Not as healthy but she liked it.
It is the type of recipe that you can keep the ingre. on hand!

eas11

03-06-2002, 03:27 PM

Susan, thanks for posting this quick, easy recipe for 1 of my favorite foods!
Made it last night (I use TJ's Napoli Marinara) and I used low fat frozen cheese Ravioli's (Mama something??).
It was excellent! I know i'll make this often, adding other veggies along with the spinach- mushrooms or zucchini or peppers. Maybe I'll add some crumbled sausage flavor gimme lean sometime. It's not often that i can cook something where all the ingredients come out of packages and it's actually good tasting as well as (relatively) healthy. This is it! Will be great to take to work potlucks, too.
Thanks again :)
Ellyn

jkuykend

03-06-2002, 07:23 PM

Real Simple is a fabulous magazine...it is right up there with CL. Great everyday living ideas and wonderful little recipes. Whenever I mention the magazine to my friends, I can't believe they have not heard of it. I am also going to try the lasagna this weekend.:)

MKSquared

03-06-2002, 10:38 PM

I'm bummed I didn't look at this thread earlier. Since I really don't like cheese all that much, I rarely buy cheesey ravioli. BUT... d'you think this could work with a tofu-filled ravioli, like the TJ Spinach/Tofu ones?

Linda in MO

03-06-2002, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by MKSquared
I really don't like cheese all that much

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Seriously, I don't see why not. But would you skip the mozzarella and the Parmesan?

DmOrtega

03-11-2002, 03:09 PM

I couldn't find a 30 oz bag of ravioli, 25 oz only. So that's what I used and I forgot to put in the parmesean. Still, this was great. I'd have no problem fixing this after work during the week.

CTSera

03-11-2002, 03:17 PM

Originally posted by Searcher
I've been drooling over this recipe too but I was wondering......what kind of store bought sauce do you use? I honestly think I've used store bought pasta sauce maybe 4 times in 36 years. Each wasn't horrible but they weren't really something I wanted to repeat. Is there a brand/type out there that's good?

I've had good luck with my lasagna (a modified version of the CL Lazy Lasagna) when using HealthyChoice Garlic and Herb. It's got wonderfully strong flavor but is also very healthy. 1/2 C. is only 50 calories, no fat, and 2 g. of fiber (WW Exchange = 1), which means you're getting all the taste without any great sacfice.

~Sarah

kima

03-11-2002, 06:18 PM

Okay all you math experts (I could look this up but I am lazy!).
Here in the great white north everything is in grams. how many ounces in a gram??? I honestly don't have a clue.
I do temperature and distances metrically (though I know miles) but cook entirely with imperial or whatever the heck its called.
:confused:

CTSera

03-11-2002, 06:35 PM

1 gram is equal to .0353 ounces.
This is not something I knew, but I have a roommate who's dating a Canadian, so periodically we need to figure out conversions to do his parents' recipes. :)

I've included a link to the website (http://www.french-property.com/ref/convert.htm) I typically use... hope you find it helpful. :)

~Sarah

kima

03-11-2002, 08:00 PM

Thanks (I think Sarah!!). So get your Canadian friend to tell me how ounces are in 350 g??
I can't do that knd of math!!!!:confused: :confused:

CTSera

03-11-2002, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by kima
Thanks (I think Sarah!!). So get your Canadian friend to tell me how ounces are in 350 g??
I can't do that knd of math!!!!:confused: :confused:

No problem, but there's an automatic converter on the website I posted. :)

Rather than make you go back there, though... there are 12.3550 ounces in 250 grams. ;)

~Sarah

JKS

03-12-2002, 04:22 AM

Thanks, Susan!!
My DH is working 18 hour days, and I've been working hard to make him 2 meals a day to pack. I made this using tortellinis I had in the freezer, homemade jarred sauce, and 2 pkgs spinach. It was great, incredibly easy, and DH loves it!!

gertdog

03-12-2002, 09:23 AM

Just wanted to add a big thumbs up!

Preheated the oven while I layered the ingredients (couldn't find "large" ravioli so used 30 oz. of small ones, which worked fine, and added 2 oz. of shredded provolone). Popped it in the oven while I took a shower (had just gotten home from the gym). Half an hour later I had bubbling hot lasagna and boy was it yummy!!!

linsleyd

03-12-2002, 11:39 AM

Wanted to add my two thumbs up as well. I have never made an easier or tastier lasagna. It is still in our fridge being eaten as leftovers and DH and I are not big leftover eaters!!:D

Searcher

03-12-2002, 12:05 PM

I made this on Saturday evening and it was really great, very easy. I did use my own sauce since I had some leftover. I used my potato ricer to squeeze the spinach (worked great too!) and, since there were just two of us, I used a small package of ravioli. I used a store brand low fat Italian cheese mix but my husband has to have piles of Parmesan on anything vaguely Italian. Have you all seen the Power of Cheese ads either on tv or in magazines with the man sitting behind a plate of spaghetti piled about 2 feet high with cheese? That's my husband's dream plate!

Anyway, we ate the leftovers last night and I think we'll have this often. My own lasagna is really better but this is so easy! And thanks for all the suggestions for pasta sauce!

ChristineB

03-12-2002, 01:03 PM

Has anyone calculated the nutritional info on this recipe?
It sounds/looks so delicious but I was wondering how it fit into Weight Watchers.

Thanks,
Christine

gertdog

03-12-2002, 01:34 PM

Christine,

I added up the points based on the component ingredients. I used Classico Tomato Basil Sauce (6 pts. for the entire jar), a regular 8 oz. package of Sargento shredded mozzerella, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan, 30 oz. of Codino brand cheese ravioli, and added 2 oz. of shredded provolone cheese.

Based on those ingredients, I came up with 9-10 pts. per 1/8 of a 9x13" lasagna pan. It was 9.6 or something like that, so I rounded up and counted it as 10.

So, a bit of a splurge, but very satisfying! I had it with 0 pt. broccoli and a 1 pt. green salad.

luckylori

03-13-2002, 06:06 AM

Another thumbs up for this incredibly easy dish! I don't know if I'll ever boil water for frozen pasta again! I stopped at Kroger on my way home from work and they didn't have any frozen cheese ravioli (they had beef & portobello but no cheese-no thanks)...so I grabbed frozen cheese tortellini, which they only had in 20oz, so I bought 2. I used a bigger baking dish than the 9x13, and used two jars of sauce. Also, I cooked a pound of crumbled turkey italian sausage that I added crushed red pepper to. Instead of plain mozzerella, I used an 8 oz. package of mozzerella & provolone pesto. And I used one package of the chopped spinach, although I bought 2....when I was layering it, one seemed enough. I couldn't believe how fast this cooked! Mine really did get done in 40 min.

Tiger

03-13-2002, 01:43 PM

lori- You crack me up! You used the same concept but I think you can call that recipe your own! Sounds very yummy!!

Lynn B

03-13-2002, 06:06 PM

Made this tonight... yummy!

I added a bit of crushed red pepper and herbs to the bottom of the pan (when just the sauce was there), and used fresh chopped spinach. Oh, I also added some sliced green onions and some leftover sliced homemade meatballs. I think the possibilities are endless with this recipe! :)

Anyway - it was delicious, easy, and a definite repeater.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

Lynn

sweeps

03-13-2002, 06:34 PM

Thanks for posting this recipe! I have two recipes very similar to this one, but yours is simpler-I'll definitely have to give this one a try!

newcook

10-11-2003, 07:36 PM

I made the last minute lasagna tonight mainly because I had been out most of the day and didn't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I was very pleasantly surprised with this recipe. I cooked it longer than specified following the advice in this thread. Super easy and quite tasty. I would add the italian seasonings next time but otherwise it is a keeper for something to put together quickly if someone drops in unexpectedly and I would like them to stay for lunch.

Daniele