Lasagne 'cupcakes'

Daina showed me a recipe for lasagne cupcakes, so I altered it a bit and made my own version. To make them, you'll need 1-2 dozen wonton (or gyoza) wrappers, ricotta filling, parmesan & shredded mozzarella cheese and your favorite pasta sauce.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees (a little lower if you're using dark-nonstick cupcake pans) & spray cupcake pans with nonstick spray. Trim the wrappers (cut to make them round) to fit into the cupcake pan, making sure the wrapper comes up to the top (and then some) & pat down firmly on the bottom & sides of each section.

Spoon a heaping teasp. of sauce onto the bottom of each wrapper. Place a heaping tblsp. or two of ricotta filling (one lb. ricotta, a beaten egg, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese) onto the sauce. Spoon a little more sauce on top of the ricotta filling, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and top liberally with shredded mozzarella. Bake these little lasagna bites for 20-30 minutes, until the tops are golden. They're quick & easy to make and are tasty & fun appetizers!!

Lasagna

This is a version for lazy days. You can go ahead and cook regular lasagna noodles (drain/dry them well) and layer them with ricotta filling if you prefer.

Have ready: a few quarts of your favorite sauce (marinara, meat...) and have it warmed & ready to use.

In a large pot, cook 1# ziti (or other similar pasta shape)- drain and add a cup of sauce to pasta- stir to coat.

While the pasta is cooking, make ricotta filling.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix together well:

4 lbs. ricotta

3 beaten eggs

a clove or 2 of crushed/minced garlic

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt & fresh ground pepper (to taste)

2 tblsp. chopped parsley

In a high-sided 13x9" pan (coated with nonstick spray), ladle 1 cup sauce & spread over the bottom of the pan; spoon 2/3 of the cooked, sauced pasta onto the sauce.

Spoon the ricotta filling evenly over the pasta- sprinkle with 8-10 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese.

Spoon the remaining 1/3 pasta over the top of the ricotta, covering the filling. Spoon sauce over the top (2-3 cups - as much or as little as you want). Sprinkle another 8 oz. shredded mozzarella over the top. Loosely cover the pan (tent some foil - just make sure the lid or foil isn't touching the sauce/cheese) and bake lasagna for an hour @350 degrees. Uncover and bake on 400 degrees for another 10 minutes, until the cheese on top is bubbly. Cool a little (15 minutes or so) before cutting into squares; serve with more sauce, if desired.