Weekday Lasagna

So it's that time of year again. The most wonderful time of the year. The season that you wait for and wait for. That's right... Girl Scout cookies are back! Joe's nieces came by the other day and sold us a couple of boxes of thin mints and my favorite, samoas (I know they are called something else now but I refuse to call it that). If you need a few boxes, Joe's nieces sell the yummiest cookies (pretty sure that's true :))

This week didn't involve alot of cooking. On Monday I had sushi with a good friend. Tuesday we had pizza for election night. Wednesday we were recovering from staying up late on election night, and we ordered pizza again (we are a pizza loving household).

Thursday I did end up cooking. As I've mentioned before, Joe's favorite food is lasagna. We don't have it all that often because, well, it takes awhile to make (even my super easy version). One day I came across this version on my go to blog, Lauren's Latest. It's called Lasagna Skillet and it is much quicker than traditional lasanga.

First, you cook your noodles. I used the same brand of whole wheat noodles I used on the mac and cheese in my earlier post, but this time I used the bow tie noodles (she used cavatappi, but bow ties are my favorite). While the noodles are cooking, brown about 1 lb of ground beef on medium-high heat. Once the meat is brown, stir in 1 clove of garlic (minced), diced zucchini, and a cup of diced onion (if you have a picky husband like mine, this recipe is a good way to sneak zucchini into his diet :)). Saute for about 5-6 minutes, and then add a jar of pasta sauce, about a cup of water, 1 tsp. dried basil, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, and 1 bay leaf. Simmer until the pasta is finished.

When the pasta is done, drain and then return to the pot. Stir in about 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, and 2 cups of grated mozzarella.

Once the cheese is melting, combine the pasta combination with the sauce. Stir and then you're done!

 Super easy! Great for those busy weeknights :)