Payday isn't until Monday, so like always, my cabinets are bare. I have to dig deep to find creative ways to make meals that my family will enjoy eating. Often when I discover a good dish through experimentation, it becomes a regular dish, even when I have food in the house. We just had lasagna about a week ago, and I still have 2 more boxes of noodles. I was wracking my brain on how to use one of the boxes to make supper tonight. Since I don't have a lot, I have to use what I have. I am going to call this dish Hungry Man Lasagna.
Here is what you do to make Hungry Man Lasagna. Boil your lasagna noodles in a large pot with a good dollop of margarine or oil so that your noodles don't stick. When the noodles are done take them off the heat and pour them into a strainer. I put the strainer in cold water and let the hot noodles soak in a bath of cold water so I can handle them later. Once they are cooled, lift the strainer out of the cold water bath and let them drain. Set the noodles aside for when you will need them to build your lasagna.
To make the filling for the lasagna you will have three parts, but you can make it any way you want to. I am making this dish a complete meal, so you don't need a side dish with it. To make this dish easy to prepare I will walk you through the steps to make the fillings.
Step 1. Slice up an onion. I cut the onion in half and then cut it up in thin slices. When the onions are clarifying in the frying pan in a dollop of margarine, you will add a pound of ground beef and let it brown. When the ground beef is done, drain the grease off the meat. I use a strainer and empty the contents out of the frying pan and let the grease drain off into an empty pot. Then I put the meat and onions back into the frying pan. Then open a can of tomato sauce and a can of beef stew. Mix it well and let it heat up. Add some Parmesan cheese to it and let it sit while you make the next filling.
Step 2. In a medium bowl empty out a container of frozen spinach. Squeeze out any excess liquid in the spinach. Add 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese to the spinach.
Step 3. Pour 3 cups of milk into a sauce pan to make instant mashed potatoes. I don't add any water to the milk, because I use 1 percent milk. You can add water if you want to, but I think the potatoes are richer without adding the water. Add 2 bullion cubes and a big dollop of butter or margarine to the milk. You don't have to add any salt because the bullion cubes add enough salt. Use whatever flavor bullion cubes that you want. I used beef flavored cubes. Add about 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese to the milk while it is heating. Just before the milk comes to a boil, cut off the heat. Slowly add the instant potatoes until you have a creamy consistency.
To make Hungry Man Lasagna place a layer of lasagna noodles in the bottom of a casserole dish. Cover the noodles with a layer of the ingredients of step number 1. Cover that layer with a layer of Parmesan cheese. Now lay another layer of lasagna noodles. Now cover those noodles with the ingredients from step number 2. (I just use my hands to spread the spinach and cheese mixture all around the noodles.) Cover the spinach and cheese layer with noodles and cover that layer with the ingredients of step number 3. If you have any noodles left you can place them on top and cover them with shredded cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake this in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. The top layer of noodles and cheese will become brown and firm. I like a crispy top to my lasagna, but you can make it any way you want to. Let this dish set a few minutes to stop bubbling before cutting. It is delicious!
Here is another way to use lasagna noodles if you want to use them up. I picked up some fresh zucchini from the outdoor market in town the other day, and they were just sitting in my refrigerator. I had thought of using them as a side dish, but then I thought of a great way to use them and to use my lasagna noodles at the same time. This is really simple, and it is called Zucchini Lasagna.
To make Zucchini Lasagna, boil the lasagna noodles just like you are going to make lasagna. Don't over cook them, so they are easy to handle. I cool them down the same way as I mentioned above. You can do it however you want to though. All you do is cut off the tops of the zucchinis and slice them long-ways. If the zucchinis are really long you can cut them in half so they aren't as long. Next, just dredge the zucchini pieces in an egg wash and coat them with flour. Fry them up in a hot frying pan with some extra virgin olive oil in the bottom. Let the pan be hot so that the zucchini starts cooking right away before the flour has a chance to fall off the zucchini pieces. Once they get browned on each side take them out and place them on a paper towel to drain. In the same frying pan fry up a couple of onions until they are clarified and take them out.
Lay some lasagna noodles in a casserole dish and place the zucchini pieces on the noodles. Cover with some of the fried onions and then cover with mozzarella cheese. Just keep layering with the zucchini, onions and cheese. I also add shredded cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese on top. Place this lasagna dish into a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes and let stand a few minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!