Even though I love cooking and spending hours in the kitchen; there are times I want something easy. Here is another one pot dinner. A few things I changed because the first time I made it I felt it needed a bit more flavor. The ricotta needed to have some seasoning to it as did the sauce. I’ve reflected the changes in the recipe below.
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- Salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 tbs Italian Seasoning
- 1 lb meatloaf mix
- 10 curly-edged lasagna noodles (8oz)
- broken into 2 inch lengths
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese grated (1/2 cup) plus extra for serving
- Pepper
- 8 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup minced fresh basil
1. Pour the tomatoes with their juice into a quart measuring cup. Add enough water to the tomatoes to measure 4 cups.
2. Mix the ricotta with 2tbs Italian seasoning, pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the noodle pieces evenly over the meat. Pour the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Stir in the remainder 2tbs Italian seasoning. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. (The sauce should look water after 15 minutes of cooking. If dry, add up to 1/4 cup additional water to loosen the sauce)
6. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Cover the skillet and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the extra Parmesan separately.
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook