Recipe: Quick and Easy Microwave Lasagna

Quick and Easy Microwave Lasagna
rec.food.recipes/David Carnell (2000)
Source: The Guaranteed Goof-Proof Microwave Cookbook

Here is a great lasagna recipe you can put together in less than an hour and cook in the microwave in less than an hour. It serves 6-8. Fresh French or Italian bread complements it beautifully.

1 pound ground beef
4 cups spaghetti sauce
1 pound ricotta or cottage cheese (I use a 24 oz. container of cottage cheese)
2 eggs
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
8-10 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

(cooking times are for 600-watt oven; for 1l00-watt oven halve times or run at 50% of specified power)

Crumble the ground meat in a 9 by 13 baking dish. Cook 4-6 minutes at HIGH, until meat is no more than light pink. Drain off fat, if necessary.

Transfer meat to a bowl, break it up, and add the spaghetti sauce (instead of spaghetti sauce, I use a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, and a tbsp. or so of oregano).

Combine ricotta, eggs, parsley, garlic powder and 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Mix well and set aside. (Most recently, the cook added about 1/4 tsp. nutmeg that made a nice flavor.)

Pour a cup of meat sauce mixture into the 9 by 13 baking dish and place 4-5 uncooked noodles evenly over sauce, overlapping noodles if necessary.

Cover noodles with another cup of sauce, spread half of cheese mixture over noodles and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Cover mozzarella with another cup of sauce and remaining noodles.

For the top layer, add the mozzarella first, then the sauce and the remaining ricotta cheese mixture. The mozzarella must not be exposed to the microwaves or it will toughen.

Cover tightly with plastic and microwave on HIGH for 15 minutes, rotating dish 1/2 turn after 7 minutes (my turntable swings the 9 by 13 dish in the oven).

Reset your microwave for MEDIUM and cook for 20-25 minutes or until noodles are tender, rotating the dish 1/2 turn after 10 minutes.

Remove the plastic film, sprinkle top with Parmesan and microwave uncovered on HIGH for 1-2 minutes until cheese melts.

NOTE: Even with the somewhat larger volumes of tomato sauce and cottage cheese that I use, it is hard to cover everything.