Lazy Day/Overnight Lasagna

So, Mr. Fantastik (yes, there is a reason for this name that I will have to share at some point) LOVES carbs! (Who doesn't, right?!) Breads, pasta, you name it, he loves it. I blame it on his runner metabolism. I, however, seem to gain about 20 pounds with one helping of spaghetti, so he doesn't get his pasta and marinara dishes near as often as he used to. That made serving up this easy lasagna a special treat for his birthday. 

The recipe in my recipe box (yes, I am old-fashioned and still have one of those) is handwritten by my sister, but I'm pretty sure she got it from a family friend. Regardless, it is easy to make the night before or morning of and stick in the fridge. When we get an extra freezer, I plan to freeze half the recipe when I make it.

Lazy Day, Overnight Lasagna

Ingredients: 

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

Ricotta Cheese (15 oz)

1 egg

1 Tbsp Oregano or Italian Seasoning

Lasagna (12 oz)

Spaghetti Sauce (32 oz)*

2 Tbsp Chopped Onion

2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese or Italian Cheese (to taste)

*I use more sauce than this (often close to 2 jars), and you will most likely want to as well. 

The recipe actually calls for sliced mozzarella cheese, but I prefer to just sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. I also use a spaghetti sauce that doesn't have sugar added or high fructose corn syrup. Classico Tomato & Basil or Onion & Garlic and a few select Meijer varieties are the only ones I have found with no sugar added. I chose whole wheat lasagna and a sweet onion.

Brown your meat and drain all that fat. I chose a leaner ground turkey. Add the spaghetti sauce and simmer for a few minutes. (This skillet is affectionately called 'the happy skillet' because it is just so much brighter and cheerier than my stainless steel skillets.)

Spread a layer of meat and sauce mix on the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Cover with lasagna noodles. Mix together ricotta cheese, onion, egg, and oregano. Cover noodles with half of the cheese mixture (thinner than shown). Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. I normally do a light sprinkling, but I know there are probably some cheese lovers out there! 

Repeat the layers. I normally have some extra sauce to the side and cover the last layer with a very thin amount of the sauce and the parmesan cheese. Remember you can refrigerate this overnight or all day.

 Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes then enjoy, like we had before this picture was even taken. Ha!