I absolutely love Lasagna, but it has a few strikes against it. Even though my slow cooker lasagna is a dear favorite, it makes enough to feed an army and requires a little bit of planning ahead – and if you’re just not tuning in, there are two things that I’m not: organized or a planner.
This skillet lasagna is a new favorite of mine for several reasons. First of all, let me start by telling you that no matter what you think, it does not taste just like spaghetti. It tastes like skillet lasagna, and you need to make it soon because it is:
- Easily made in about 20 minutes
- Economical (stretches a 1/2 pound ground beef to feed 4 people)
- All the flavors I love in Lasagna but in a perfect serving size for a smaller family.
- Easily doubled (see recipe for notes on how I do that)
I’m hungry so let’s get started:
You’ll need: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, ground beef, onions, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, and about 1/2 a package of egg noodles.
The beauty of this recipe is that it feeds about four people with only 1/2 pound of ground beef, which is a real budget saver.
I say “about” because putting servings on a recipe is very relative. The first thought that comes to mind every single time anyone asks me how many a recipe feeds is “How hungry are you?“. If you have a casserole that some “say” feeds 6, but four are little kids, it may feed 8-10. Likewise, if you have a half starved lumberjack in the family, it may feed two :).
In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef and onions until it’s no longer pink in the center, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you do so. Drain off any grease once it’s cooked.
Add in your water, tomato paste, tomatoes (with juice), Italian seasoning (Pronounced EYE-talian by my grandmother), and garlic powder.
Stir that up good and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about ten minutes – or until you get tired of simmering.
Either or works for me – I promise I’m not grading on how well you follow instructions.
Cook them thar noodles!
Your package tells you how in case you need to know 🙂
Stir in your cooked egg noodles.
Interesting fact: You know when I do TV I’m not supposed to say “your” egg noodles or “your tomatoes”. I’m supposed to say “the” egg noodles and “The tomatoes”. Which is completely and utterly ridiculous (not that I have an opinion on it or anything) because at this point, if they don’t belong to you, you really shouldn’t be cooking with them. It is not often that I break into people’s homes and cook with ingredients I find in their pantries but I supposed tv folks are supposed to use general terminology in order to avoid make burglar chefs feel guilt or shame about their unfortunate but tasty habit.
The world is a crazy place and I’m just a swinging over it on my trapeze…
Stir your two cheeses together.
Drop that by spoonfuls onto the top of your skillet.
You don’t have to put it in the center like I did, you can just go crazy putting it all over if you want – or even make a smiley face out of cheese blops on the top!
Get creative but if you do anything really fun be sure and send me a picture 🙂
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 16 ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces Egg Noodles half of a 16 oz pkg, cooked and drained
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup Mozzarella
Instructions
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In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium high heat until no longer pink in center. Drain off any grease.
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Add tomatoes in juice, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to skillet. Stir well and lower heat to simmer for ten minutes, while you cook the egg noodles separately.
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Stir cooked egg noodles into the sauce.
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In separate bowl, stir together cottage cheese and mozzarella. Drop by spoonfuls over top of lasagna skillet. Cover and let cook about five minutes, until the cheese melts.
To double: Cook the entire package of egg noodles and double the sauce and cheese recipe. After you drain egg noodles, pour them into a 9×13 baking dish. Spoon cooked sauce over top and dollop with spoonfuls of cheese and bake in a 350 oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
This recipe was originally published in 2013. I updated the post and photos in 2020.
“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.”
~Colin Powell
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