Lasagna is another one of my favorite Italian dishes. It’s very time consuming but well worth the wait. Lasagna originated in Ancient Greece and consisted of pasta (typically wide, flat noodles) and sauce. Lasagna as we know it today consists of layers of pasta, sauce, cheeses, and sometimes veggies or meat.
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly rushing around, trying to get the kids to school, after school activities, running errands, or who knows what else. So, I don’t have time to be in the kitchen adding layer after layer of pasta, cheese, miscellaneous other ingredients, and sauce. I know it doesn’t take that long , but you get the point! Sometimes life’s just too busy to have that much focus!
One of my kids’ favorite types of pasta is Ziti, an extruded pasta originating in Campania. This is an awesome pasta, because it has the hollow tube to collect all that delicious sauce and cheese. Instead of the traditional flat pasta, I like to use Ziti to make a quick and amazing dish. First, start by cooking the pasta to the package directions. Next, strain the noodles and add parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta (you can use cottage cheese as an alternative to ricotta) and stir it all together. Then, add fresh spinach and stir to combine. Now I take my Cheater Hearty Marinara sauce and stir that in (another reason to make a large batch–having some on hand for occasions just like this!). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the pasta, cheese, spinach, and sauce combination into a greased baking dish. Top it with some more sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover baking dish with the foil (sprayed side down!). Bake for 30 minutes or so until heated through. Before you know it, dinner is done! Enjoy!
