Ch-easy Lasagna

More About This Recipe

• Giada I'm not. I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me ... which probably explains what I'm about to say. Forgive me, Italian cuisinists. If you haven't already, you're going to cough up a lung when you read this article. But let me explain -- I do luuuuuuv your food ... spaghetti, tortellini, penne, lasagna. I covet it all. But ... I'm busy, busy, busy. Busy. And I know you are too. My mom had an old-country lasagna recipe she used to make (presumably from an old-country Italian, since she didn't have any drops of Italian blood in her either). It was the bomb. But, man, you should've seen what it took to put that whale together. Boiling noodles, stirring sauces, grating cheeses, chopping herbs, browning meat -- and an entire kitchen's worth of counter space to get 'er done. Well, here's a new-wave homemade version minus all that stuff we busy, busy, busy folks sadly don't always have time for. This recipe gives us the taste we love -- on a work night. Here are the major secrets: Use no-boil, oven-ready lasagna noodles Purchase grated cheese Make a quick tomato sauce with Muir Glen organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes The fire-roasted tomatoes provide a globe's worth of old-world flavor -- so, freshly chopped herbs? Forget-about-it. Or at least save that for days when you have more time on your hands. BTW, this recipe is meat-free, but you can throw browned ground beef into the rotation if you want. It's also great with some veggie add-ins. But we're doing it the super-simp way here, so cheesy easy it is. Make this up ahead of time so when you get home from work, toss it in the oven with a loaf of Pillsbury Italian bread. And while they're baking, you can say ciao to the hassle of homemade-everything and saluto to bella dining -- the weeknight work-night way!