Guest Foodie: Jake Van Ness & Lasagna Cups

The Foodies' KitchenDecember 9, 2011

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Here are a few lines from Jake introducing you to the recipe:

You may remember my Spinach and Chicken Lasagna Rolls from a while back and when I saw this latest recipe on Kitty’s Pintrest Foodies board I knew I had to give it a try. I decided to scale down the original recipe as it was only being made for myself. There are also a few ingredients I left out and I added mushrooms.

We hope you enjoy it!

Helga & Kitty

Lasagna Cups

Adapted from Lauren’s Latest
Yield: Makes 6 Cups

Ingredients for Sauce:
6 oz of tomato paste
8 oz of tomato sauce
7 oz of diced tomatoes
½ lb of ground beef
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
½ tsp of garlic powder
½ tsp of minced onion
½ tsp of basil
½ tsp of oregano

Ingredients for Cheese Filling:
5 oz of cooking creme
¼ cup of Ricotta Cheese
¾ cup of mozzarella (¼ for toping)
¼ cup of parm cheese
1 small egg

Directions:

Place the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and start browning the meat. Add a pinch of each of the spices (garlic powder, minced onion, basil and oregano). A few minutes before the meat is done add the mushrooms and continue to brown.
On another burner add the tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes to a pot. Bring to a simmer and add the rest of the spices you have left. Stir from time to time. Once meat is done add to the sauce and continue on low heat for about 30 mins.
During this time prepare your pot of water for your lasagna noodles. Cook as per the directions on the box. You will need one noodle for each cup. So in this case 6. I did throw in an extra one just in case one broke or something. A really good tip I got from Lauren’s Latest is to use a greased cookie sheet to lay them out once they are cooked and waiting to be used.
Now for the cheese filling. Stir all of those ingredients except ¼ cup of the mozzarella for adding at the very end.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using parchment line each section of a jumbo muffin tin. They are a little tricky to get to stay in but you can work them in with your fingers. Plus the pasta will push them down when added. Take each noodle and cut 2-3 inches off of one end and set that aside. You will need them. Line each section of the tin with 1 lasagna noodle. Make sure to over lap it slightly so it will hold the sauce and filling well. Push one of the 2-3 inch cut offs into the bottom of each tin. Now take a table spoon and add some of the sauce, meat and mushrooms. Then add some of the cheese filling. Repeat this until your tins are just about full, ending with the cheese filling. Add a bit of the ¼ of mozzarella, we set aside, to eat of the tins to finish it off.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until all the cheese is melted and the edges of the noodle start to brown a little. To serve, pull out by the parchment paper and remove the paper when plating. Enjoy!