Lazy Lasagna

I really like Lasagna but don't want to make an entire pan just for me. The Lasagna soup I made was tasty, but it still wasn't the real thing. This recipe is about as close as it gets but still fits into my dining alone requirements. This recipe comes from the Taste of Home cooking for One or Two.








Get some water boiling and preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lets gather some ingredients.




You need some sausage, lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and ricotta or cottage cheese.




Remove the casing from the sausage and chop it up.




Measure out your sauce.




Break the lasagna noodles up into pieces. Be careful, those suckers can fly if you break them wrong.




Now that you have everything chopped its time to cook. Get your sausage in the pan with some oil and get it cooking.




Drop the noodles in the water and grab some small casserole dishes.




Grease them up so none of your lasagna goodness sticks. I used 2 refrigerator dishes and they were perfect.




When your sausage is cooked get it into a sauce pan with the spaghetti sauce.




When the sauce is heated, stir in the mozzarella and ricotta cheese.




When your noodles are done drain them and then stir them into the sauce.




When its all combined pour it into your casserole dishes and top with the parmesan cheese. Get them into the oven, I used my toaster oven as its hot as heck here in Arizona. Its been over 110 degrees for days.




After about 20 minutes the lasagna should be bubbly and delicious.




This was so easy and was amazingly delicious. I have definitely found my Lasagna for one!

Carrot Au Gratin

After my Ham and Corn Au Gratin turned out so great I thought, I can make anything 'Au Gratin' and it would probably be good. So I went with this vegetarian version and it was delicious!! It is also from Taste Of Home Cooking for One or Two.

Ingredients:

* 3 medium carrots, sliced
* 2 tablespoons chopped onion
* 5 teaspoons butter, divided
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Dash pepper
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 2 tablespoons crushed cornflakes

Directions:
Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until carrots are almost tender. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute onion in 3 teaspoons butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and parsley until cheese is melted. Drain carrots; add to sauce.
Transfer to a greased 2-cup baking dish. Melt remaining butter; stir in cornflakes. Sprinkle over carrots. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.





Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (I used my toaster oven of course) and lets gather some ingredients. You need some carrots (or one giant one like I had) onion, butter, flour, milk, shredded cheese, parsley and corn flakes. I didn't have corn flakes so I just used crackers.




Chop up the carrot and the onion. Get the carrots in a sauce pan wiht about an inch of water and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let them cook for 6-8 minutes until tender.




Meanwhile, melt some butter and set it aside.




In another pan, get some more butter and the onion going until they are tender.




While those cook, combine the cracker crumbs or smashed corn chips in a bowl with the butter. I also added a little cheese because Cheese is delicious!




When the onions are tender, stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the milk. Do this nice and slow so your sauce isn't gritty or pasty. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes while stirring.




Remove from the heat then stir in the cheese and parsley.




Your carrots should now be done so drain those guys and we are ready to assemble!




Doesn't the cheese sauce look fantastic??




I didn't bother to combine the carrots and the cheese, I just got the carrots in a greased casserole dish. I also threw in the last of a bag of frozen peas. I used a great Pyrex dish, big surprise there.




Pour the sauce on and top with the crumb topping. Put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then you are ready for some tasty, vegetarian comfort food.




Doesn't it look delicious??




It tasted great, even better than the Ham and Corn Au Gratin I made before it!

Ham and Corn Au Gratin

Regardless of hot it gets here in AZ I still crave comfort food that requires an oven. This is where my toaster oven saves the day. This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine's Cooking for One or Two.

Ingredients:

* 2 teaspoons butter
* 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup diced fully cooked ham
* 1-1/4 cups frozen corn, thawed
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
* TOPPING:
* 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/4 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 7 crackers)
* 2 teaspoons butter, melted
* Paprika

Directions:
In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
In a greased 1-qt. baking dish, layer the ham, corn, green pepper and onion. Pour sauce over top. In a bowl, combine the cheese, crumbs and butter; sprinkle over top . Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.




Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lets gather the ingredients. You need, cooked ham, butter, shredded cheese, corn, flour, milk, onion, green pepper, paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper and Ritz crackers. That seems like a lot of stuff, but it is pretty simple to make.




Chop up your veggies.




Smash the crackers in a ziplock bag. I tend to just beat the crap out of them with a rolling pin. Combine the crackers with the grated cheese and melted butter. Set this aside for now.




Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan.




Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper and keep on stirring until its smooth.




Slowly add the milk and continue to stir until it is thickened.




While the sauce cooks grease a casserole dish, mine is a cute Pyrex of course, layer in the ham, corn, green pepper and onion.




Pour the sauce over the top of the ham and veggies.




Top with the cracker crumb mixture and then sprinkle with paprika.




Bake it for about 10-15 minutes and then you are ready to eat!




This is simple and was easily made in my toaster oven in no time at all. When you just have to have some good comfort food on a hot day, this is the way to go.