Gluten-Free Lasagna

One of our favorite family meals is homemade lasagna.  The lasagna filling here is packed with flavor.  You can make your lasagna with or without ground beef, but here I add both ground beef and spinach into the sauce.  My absolute favorite mix of cheese in lasagna uses a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.   I find this a perfect complement to the rich meaty and veggie-filled sauce.  Layering the lasagna, as described in the recipe below, means you get an even amount of filling throughout the lasagna in every bite! Yum! Enjoy!

A hot slice of lasagna, ready to be eaten. Mmmm... 

Gluten-Free Lasagna
Makes 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook 1 package brown rice lasagna noodles, using 1 minute below the lowest recommended cook-time. Once cooked, rinse under cold water and let sit until ready to assemble lasagna.  You should have ~12 noodles, enough for 4 layers, each with 3 noodles.

Prepare sauce:
Over medium heat, cook until meat is almost all browned:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground beef

When beef is almost all browned add and cook 1-2 minutes:
2-3 tsp minced garlic

Add and cook until wilted:
3-4 handfuls baby spinach

Pour and let simmer until you're ready to assemble your lasagna:
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico b/c they don't add sugar to their sauce)

Sauce ready to go! Leave on low to simmer while you're preparing the other parts of the lasagna.

Prepare cheese filling:
In a bowl, mix together:
1 container ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced OR 1 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 - 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

To assemble your lasagna, layer in the following order in a 9x13 pan:
Layering like this, you get a bit of cheese, meat, spinach & sauce in between each layer of noodles.  Delicious!
Layer 1: 
Generous layer of sauce
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling, spread along the noodles
Light drizzle of sauce
Layer 2:
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling
Light drizzle of sauce
Layer 3: 
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling
Light drizzle of sauce
Top Layer:
Layer of noodles
Cover fully with sauce
Sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan cheese

On left, generous layer of sauce and layer of noodles.  On each layer add some ricotta filling and a little sauce.

Try to make each layer with even amounts of ricotta filling with a little sauce.  Top with layer of noodles.

Use remaining sauce generously over the top of the noodles.  Sprinkle with Parmesan before cooking.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Wonderful served with a side of salad and GF garlic bread. Yes, leftovers either refrigerated or frozen are wonderful. Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven. Let rest before cutting and eating! Yum!

Easy, Delicious Mac n' Cheese and Quick Lasagna

I don't just make desserts. ;)

Here are a couple easy peasy dinner ideas that I've played around with this week.  

They can be made in advance and re-heated, too. Everyone has enjoyed both very much.

Start by:

Cooking up brown rice noodles. I'd say make 2 boxes/bags worth if you are using boxes/bags. Use a BIG pot.  I find brown rice noodles all need between 7-11 minutes to cook. Make sure to taste before you drain!  Drain and rinse in cold water.   Mix in a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking to each other. You can pop them in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them (for 2-3 days)

Quick n' Easy Lasagna!

Use half the noodles to make each recipe below:

Cheesy Broccoli Bake OR Plain Mac n' Cheese  It just depends if you're in the mood for broccoli in the dish or on the side. ;)

Rinse and chop off heads of ~2 broccoli bunches. Don't use the stems. Set broccoli aside.

Have 2 cups grated cheese ready to go. A cheddar or cheddar mix is nice. (I keep bags of this in the freezer for easy meals)

Over medium heat in a large/wide saucepan melt:
1/4 cup butter

Cook until tender:
1/2 onion, diced

Add
2 cups milk & 1 tsp chicken boullion (for flavor)
salt & pepper (you can adjust flavor later, but I just grind fresh over the top of the pan)

While this is heating up (you want nice rolling boil bubbles to start before you add the next ingredient), mix in a small bowl: 1/4 cup cold milk and 1 heaping Tbsp cornstarch.

Once your food is boiling, add in this milk/cornstarch mix and mix well. This thickens your sauce. Stir/cook until you see your sauce bubble gently.

Remove sauce from heat and mix in cheese until fully melted. Taste to see if you want to add a bit more pepper or salt.

Mix in the broccoli (optional). Pour the whole thing into an 8x8 baking pan.

Optional before baking:

Sprinkle on top EITHER 1/2 cup cheese OR 1/2 cup cheese mixed with 1/4 cup cornflake crumbs or GF bread crumbs.

Bake ~25min at 375F.

NOTE: if you don't want the broccoli - you'll just have a nice macaroni and cheese bake. :)

With the remaining cooked noodles, do the following (not necessarily on the same day. I made this the next day for our family).

Easy Lasagna Bake:

An option to start: Cook up a bag of spinach in a saucepan with a bit of water. Season with some salt and pepper. Squeeze to drain out . Chop into smaller pieces using a cutting board.

Mix in a bowl: 

1/2 container of ricotta

1 cup grated mozzarella (I keep bags of this in the freezer for easy meals)

1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano

spinach from above, if using

salt and pepper to season

Add noodles and mix with cheesy mixture.

Add 1/2 - 1 jar spaghetti sauce (I like Classico for best flavor) into noodles, mix gently. it doesn't have to be thoroughly mixed!

Pour into 8x8 pan

Optional toppings: sprinkle top with mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake ~25-30 min at 375F.

*Alternatively, you can layer sauce, noodles, ricotta mix, sauce, noodles (continue), ending with some parmesan on top, like a normal lasagna - but with fun noodle shapes!

While lasagna is baking, put foil on a cookie sheet. Lay out some slices of gluten-free bread. Spread with butter and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

Pop this into the oven as soon as you take the lasagna out. Let cook ~5 min, at which point the lasagna is cool enough to eat.

Enjoy!!!

A quick and easy lasagna made with shell noodles and only parmesan on top