cheesy lasagna pasta

by tijuana, 02/27/2013

so... i was in the mood for some lasagna. today was a LONG day from the start! one of my best friends came over to help us clean out our storage room. boy, did we collect a lot of stuff. after almost 12 years of marriage, we could have had more, but it was still a moderate amount. so after building shelves, moving tricycles and old boxes, i was a wee bit tired. all that hard work drew up quite an appetite! whew... so, back to the lasagna. just thinking about the tedious process of making the lasagna was making me yawn. so i short-cutted it. i mean, shortened the process, big time. this meal took 30 minutes from start to finish. plus, this quick lasagna pasta costs less than making regular lasagna. anyway, after it was all said and done, we tasted it. the hubby said, wow. this tastes EXACTLY like lasagna. i was smiling from ear to ear. i have to admit... after making this pasta, i do not know when i will actually take the time to make a lasagna anymore. maybe when my 4 kids go off to college. or maybe i'll make it one day while on vacation. but for now... i'll stick with this pasta! 🙂

total Time: 50 minutes
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
yield: 6 servings

ingredients:

2 cups farfalle pasta - or your fav pasta or broken lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil -
1 lb ground beef -
1/2 onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon italian seasoning -
2 tablespoons tomato paste -
1 large tomato - chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce -
1/2 cup chicken stock -
1/2 cup ricotta cheese -
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese -
1/3 cup parmesan cheese -

instructions:

preheat the broiler.
bring a large bowl of water to a boil. season the water generously and add the pasta. cook according to the package directions.
heat a large skillet over high heat. once hot, add the vegetable oil and hamburger meat. season with salt/pepper to taste (i used 1 teaspoon of salt). break the hamburger meat up into small pieces as it cooks through. if there is a large amount of grease, drain it off.

add the onion, garlic and italian seasoning. stir to coat and cook for a few minutes until the onions are slightly tender.

add in the tomato paste. stir the tomato paste in and cook for a few minutes to toast.

add in the tomato and the tomato sauce.

stir until combined. add in the chicken stock, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan. allow to simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors marry. add in the ricotta cheese.