Martha Stewart Living No-Bake Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomatoes

At least one day a week I run very low on time for preparing dinner. I try to plan at least one recipe in my meal plan that takes less than twenty minutes prep to plate. A family favorite, especially for my two boys, is any dish that involves pasta. The same quick pasta dishes can get redundant after many uses, so I am always looking for new recipe ideas. A recent issue of Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for no-bake lasagna with ricotta and tomatoes that looked quick and delicious.

This is one of the easiest pasta dishes I have made in a long time. The only real ingredient prep is the slicing of the garlic and tomatoes that takes at most five minutes. All the ingredients used in this recipe are simple. I was unable to find yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, so I used three cups of red grape tomatoes. That is the only substitution that I made to the original recipe. The one suggestion I do have is to make sure that the pasta water is adequetely salted, so the final dish doesn't taste undersalted.

This dish was a huge hit with both of my sons, they ate their entire servings. I like that it is very easy to prep and cook and tastes even better the next day after sitting in the fridge overnight. This will be a recipe I will definitely keep bookmarked for a quick evening meal when time is a priority.

For the recipe go to No-Bake Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomatoes.

Taste of Home Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna

Often, after a week of using new recipes, I want good, old-fashion comfort food. However, finding new spins on classic favorites can prove problematic (especially when it comes to lasagna). I have tried many recipes that have failed to live up to expectations or were complete failures. I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna in the April/May issue of Taste of Home magazine.

All the ingredients in this recipe are easy to find, there were even bulk and pre-packaged baby portobello mushrooms in my local grocery store. The prep is relatively time consuming, with multiples components needed to construct the lasagna. I had to make a large modification to the recipe due to the fact that I ran out of 2% milk, I had to substitute non-fat. Since non-fat milk is much lower in fat than 2% I had to add additional flour and butter in order for the sauce to thicken to the desired consistency. Additionally, I was unable to find no-cook lasagna noodles, so I cooked my noodles on the stove-top and then followed the recipe accordingly.

My four year old liked this recipe, my two year old was indifferent. My husband liked this recipe and it heated up well for his lunch the next day. The one thing that this recipe lacked was an adequate amount of salt---salting on top was not enough---it needs additional salt added to the inside due to the mushrooms. I would make this recipe again and try with 2% milk and plenty of seasoning.

For the recipe go to Taste of Home Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna.

Note: My husband added some J&D's Bacon Salt to his and found it tasty.