Skillet Lasagna

My mom has been making this for that past few months and telling me that I HAVE to make it. I have tried it at her house and loved it but I just never made it, not really sure why. This week with it being the start of school I wanted to be super organized, I planned my menu on Sunday and shopped for everything. I am so excited this is the 1st week in forever that I have actually only been to the grocery one time and not back for 3-4 extra trips where I spend $40-$60 each time...it starts to add up after a while! Ooops let me get back to this lasagna, so here is the thing about lasagna to me, I love it, it is such a hearty, filling meal but it is just so much work that I never want to go through all the trouble, well trouble no more with this one-pot-wonder, we can have lasagna all the time.When I brought it to the table my kids were already drooling...it smelled amazing! And although it doesn't look quite as pretty as layered lasagna, it tastes just the same, and oh so much less work and ready in 30 minutes, what's not to love?

Ingredients:
1 t olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef (I use 93% lean)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 of a 14oz can of tomato sauce
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 T fresh chopped parsley (that's what I had on hand)
3 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into 3-4 pieces each
1/2 cup cottage or ricotta cheese (my husband HATES ricotta so I used cottage)
1/4 cup grated parm
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup
2 T liquid egg whites or 1 whole egg

Directions:
Using a large skillet add the olive oil and heat to high, then add the ground beef. Cook until beef is mostly brown, breaking into small pieces with your spoon, then add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Next, add both cans of tomatoes and half the can of tomato sauce then season with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, let cook for 3-4 minutes then taste the sauce and add more seasoning if needed next, add your fresh herbs. Now take the broken lasagna noodles and shove them into the meat sauce, make sure they are covered by the sauce so they cook through, put the top on and turn the heat to medium. Set a timer for 20 minutes. While that is cooking together, in a small bowl mix together the cottage cheese, 1/4 cup grated parm, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella and 2 T of liquid egg white. I usually season this mixture with a little garlic and onion powder, one or two shakes of each. After 20 minutes open the top of the skillet at this point the noodles should be cooked through but if they aren't yours may need 5 minutes more. Next spoon the cheese mixture randomly on top of the sauce then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Put the lid back on for 5 minutes just to melt the cheese. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes then serve.

It is hard to make ground beef look appetizing but had to show you this step...

There add some tomatoes and it looks much better!

Break the noodles into your sauce (don't leave them like this, cover them with sauce or they won't cook)

Mix up your cheeses...

Dollop the cheese on top!

Then add more cheese, YUM!

Put the top back on and just like that you made lasagna without all the fuss!

 It looks great on the plate so eat up!

Weight Watcher Friends: This makes 6 servings and each serving has 7 points! Not bad for a yummy hearty dinner!