lasagna & baked ziti for dummies?

[7rider]

But I would like to try to make some easy pasta dishes. Does anyone have a ridiculously simple recipe for lasagna and baked ziti? When I say simple, I mean like the ingredients would be: pasta, sauce from a jar, cheese. No meat. Even vegetables are not necessary, at least not for my first attempt.

I already have a lasagna pan. I would be cooking for one, so a fair amount of it would be frozen for future use.

I do pretty much what Roxy does for lasagna. But I use no-boil pasta. I tried pre-soaking them in hot water first for a bit. That worked out okay, but honestly, I never had any issues with the noodles if I put them in dry. I follow the recipe on the back of the box (I think Ronzoni has a good one). Sometimes, I'll throw some sliced mushrooms (pre-cooked or out of a can/jar) and/or chopped spinach on top of the ricotta. I once cut the ricotta amount in half, and substituted with an equal amount of silken tofu (I had some shelf stable blocks and had no idea what to do with it). It came out surprisingly good.

I also use an 8x8 Pyrex (and half any recipe), so DH and I are not over-burdened with lasagna for a week. It's a super easy dish (the longest time is waiting for it to bake) and DH loooves it.

[tulip]

I make amazing lasagne in my crock pot. I make it with spinach, which I mix with the egg, ricotta and some of the mozzerella. Then I layer according to the directions on the pasta box, ending with sauce and mozzerella on top. Do not cook the noodles before--just lay them in there dry.

6-8 hours later (depending on your crock pot), you'll have delicious spinach lasagne, and no oven mess.

[channlluv]

Oh my stars. You mean I don't have to cook the noodles first? Sheesh. That's the reason I don't make it often because cooking those damn noodles is such a hassle! Ha!

I have to try this crockpot lasagna.

Would gluten-free noodles work, do you think? Anyone have a favorite?

Roxy

[tulip]

I just made some with noodles made from Jerusalem artichokes. It was great.

[nscrbug]

X2 on the crockpot lasagna!!! I used a recipe from the Kraft website and tweaked it a bit to my liking. It's very basic - uncooked lasagna noodles, jarred sauce (or use your own), ricotta mixture (cheese, egg, parsley, parmesan & mozzarella)...layer in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. Comes out fantastic...and the smell fills up the house all afternoon.

[Ambikes]

I make a lasagna that's very similar to the one Roxy does also. However, I'll usually sub the ricotta for cottage cheese. My mom always made lasagna this way, so I didn't even realize you were supposed to use ricotta until I moved away from home! The cottage cheese has a lot more protein and less fat than the ricotta, and you don't sacrifice a whole lot of flavor. Lasagna with ricotta is a little more rich and cheesy, though.

[ny biker]

You guys are awesome. Thank you!!