Growing up I had the same hobbies and interests as other kids my age like dance, soccer, reading, gymnastics and the like, as well as some, well, nontraditional hobbies.
Hobbies like collecting anythingandeverythingrubberstamps in herds of caboodles, including one just for my embossing powders which you could sprinkle over wet-stamp ink, then hold over a hot burner causing it to melt and solidify into a 3-D shape of the stamp. Yeeeah.
Hobbies like imagining different career paths for myself than researching everything I could to learn more about them. FYI if you ever need to know what it takes to become an astronaut-dentist-phone switch operator at the White House, I’m your woman.
Hobbies like writing fan mail to “celebrities” like the Queen of England, Arsenio Hall, and, wait for it, Dave Coulier from Full House. Uncle Joey! Like, couldn’t I have at least written to hunky Uncle Jesse? And Arsenio Hall? What did I even say in his letter? I like your fist pump??
The craziest part is that “they” all wrote back. That’s right, I definitely had signed headshots of Uncle Joey, Arsenio, and the Royal Family taped to my closet door, right next to Jonathon Taylor Thomas and Kirk Cameron. Didn’t you?
Anyway, I have a new fan letter to write, and it’s addressed to Lazy Girls Ravioli Lasagna. The letter shall read something like this:
Dear Lazy Girls Ravioli Lasagna, Hi. My name’s Kristin, and I’m your biggest fan. The way you layer marinara sauce, frozen ravioli, seasoned ground beef, and cheese, then come out tasting like I slaved over a traditional lasagna all day tickles me pink.
See, lasagna is one of my favorite comfort foods, but sometimes I just to don’t want to take the time to boil a box of noodles, mix up a batch of cheese filling, then get all messy layering everything together. Your muss and fuss-free shortcut of using frozen cheese ravioli to bypass these steps is not only time saving, but absolutely delicious.
Nobody knew the difference and I took all the credit. You’re the best.
Write back soon! Love, IGE
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Lazy Girl’s Ravioli Lasagna
Description
Lazy Girl's Ravioli Lasagna uses frozen cheese ravioli in place of boiled noodles and cheese filling. Total time saver, and nobody will know the difference!
Ingredients
- 1lb lean ground beef
- garlic salt
- pepper
- 24oz marinara sauce
- 1-1/2lbs frozen mini cheese ravioli (Do not thaw. Could use normal sized ravioli too)
- 6oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, seasoning with garlic salt and pepper, until no longer pink. Drain then return to the skillet and set aside.
- Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Add 1/3 the frozen ravioli, ground beef, sauce, and cheese. Repeat layers two more times.
- Cover with a sheet of non-stick sprayed foil then bake for 1 hour. Remove foil then bake for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Hearty, easy, and so, so yummy!
[…] Lazy Girl Lasagna looks INCREDible!! (Iowa Girl Eats) […]
I have a client who likes to try new recipes and I stumbled across this one and printed it out for her. She raved so much and was on her second time making it, so I decided to try it myself. So easy. My BF and his son loved it. Gave some to my mother and she loved it, too. This one’s a keeper. Thank you!
[…] it’s a pain to make. That’s why I was excited to find a shortcut recipe over at Iowa Girl Eats. It takes all the hassle out of making this classic Italian dish but leaves all the scrumptious […]
Kristin, This was absolutely brilliant, and delicious. I had to improvise with the ingredients I had on hand. We had the same brand of frozen tortellini, one small jar of marinara, and one small jar of alfredo. I made half the pan red sauce, and the other alfredo. It was fantastic, and our family loved it. I can’t believe how excited I am for leftovers at lunch. We’ll be making this regularly from now on. Thank you!
[…] Source: Iowa Girl Eats […]
[…] Lazy Girl Ravioli Lasagna – Another great IGE recipe. […]
So…the oldest went back for seconds and the 17yo said this morning that it was really good. I used a little bit bigger dish than an 8×8 and next time I’ll Pam the sides because some ravioli stuck. Maybe add more mozzarella and do a standard size ravioli instead of the minis (not enough cheese in the minis IMHO). Still wonderfully delicious though. Thank you.
Its cooking as I type.. I tried it with ground sausage instead of ground beef. Also included grated Parmesan/Romano in the layers. I’ll let you know how it comes out. My oldest, 22, said “that sounds really good Mom. And the only Italian dish hubby likes is lasagna so hopefully he’ll like this.
And mine was to Tom Selleck when Magnum PI was THE thing to watch. I got an auto-penned photo back. Gorgeous, at least in the 80s.
[…] an incredibly lazy girl, this “Lazy Girl’s Ravioli Lasagna” is something I’d totally […]
I can’t wait to try this! As a certified lazy girl, this is right up my alley.
I made this last night for dinner. It was sooo goood! My husband said he liked it more than regular lasagna and I agree!
ok first of all that looks AMAZING.
secondly I just bought embossing tools and I can’t stop embossing things. please send help.
Next time you make traditional lasagna, use egg roll or won-ton wrappers in place of noodles. It’s just sheets of fresh pasta, so no need to pre-boil, and it makes the noodle layer much less dense and chewy. Easier and better tasting = win, win!
I STILL have my old Caboodles – I use it to store medical supplies now, instead of lip gloss, Love’s Baby Soft, Aqua Net and Jean Nate haha!
HAHAHA I love that you wrote fan letters. I definitely was a part of a few fan clubs of my own, except I daydreamed about Taylor Hanson coming to my house in his tour bus and being my boyfriend. Errr….
This is the coolest idea for lasagna ever! So easy! Plus, I have frozen ravioli on hand all the time :)
This is my favorite post ever. On so many levels.
I collected autographs of baseball players. I guess because my older brother liked baseball and he did.
I would have cut you for the JTT autograph.
Dad used to make this with tortellini … that cheese on top is the best!
I TOTALLY had a caboodle! And I’m a huge fan of “lazy” dinners – cool idea!
this is the only way I make lasagna now – read a recipe in Real Simple years ago. SO YUM
Love this lazy lasagna. I used to collect all kinds of things. Mini ceramic animal figurines, stickers, pogs (YES POGS!), stuffed animals and lipsmackers. I had an entire kaboodle full of them!