Comfort Food: Mock Lasagna

31 Days of Comfort and Home:  Day 2

Comfort Food.  Home-made Food.  Comfort and Home -- Definitely!

There are certain dinners I make that brings shouts of joy from the Ferrell boys.  One of the most recent addition to the Favorite Foods List is my Mock Lasagna.

What is Mock Lasagna?  It's like lasagna, but it's not.

Kind of like a mock turtleneck sweater is like a turtleneck, but it's not.   Get it?  

Mock Lasagna

1 to 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef 
1 Jar Ragu spaghetti sauce
8 oz pkg mostaccioli pasta
1 container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided (I use one of those pre-packaged, pre-shredded Kraft cheese blends.)
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350°.

Step 1:  Brown the ground beef and drain any grease off the cooked meat. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce.  I usually add 1/3 jar of water to the sauce to get the right consistency for the sauce and to get all the sauce out of the jar.

Step 2:  While preparing the meat sauce mixture, bring a pot of water to boil and add 1/2 pkg of the mostaccioli pasta.  Cook according to pkg directions.  I usually cook mine for 10 minutes.  Then drain.

Step 3:  Mix together  in a small bowl:  1/2 the container of Riccotta cheese, beaten egg, and 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese blend.

Then layer everything in a 3 quart casserole dish in this order:

Meat sauce to cover bottom of dish and then add a layer of the pasta noodles:

Then add a layer of the Riccotta cheese mixture:

Then sprinkle on a layer of the shredded Italian cheese blend:

Then repeat the layers again, meat sauce, pasta, riccotta cheese mixture, and shredded cheese blend ending with another layer of meat sauce.

Sprinkle with shredded Italian cheese blend and place in preheated oven for 40 minutes.  I also let mine sit for about 8 minutes before serving.  I don't know why.  :)

The finished product looks something like this:

And on my plate, it looks like this . . . yummy goodness!   Serve it with green peas and garlic bread . . . comfort food for sure!

I hope you try my Mock Lasagna.  It's like lasagna, but it's not!  It's definitely comfort food!  The Ferrell boys love it so much I've made it at least once a week for the past 3 weeks!

That wraps up Day 2 of my 31 Days of Comfort and Home with

                            the Ferrell boys and me!

I also linked up to these great parties: