April Fools Faux Lasagna Recipes

LAZY MOM'S FAUX LASAGNA

Steps:

• Prepare water to boil and pre-grease a deep casserole dish.
• Brown beef, onions and garlic in a medium sized sauce pan (if you don't like your onions a tad crisp, saute your onions and garlic until soft, prior to adding the beef).
• Add spaghetti sauce AND spinach to the beef, onion and garlic; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 350, and add noodles to boiling water and cook until al dante.
• Drain noodles and return to pot.
• Pour the sauce mixture into the noodles, RESERVING two or so cups, and mix thoroughly. Set remaining sauce aside.
• Pour half of the pasta mixture into the pre-greased casserole dish, layer with 6 slices of provolone cheese, pour in the remaining pasta, break the remaining provolone into pieces, layer, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Finally, pour on the reserved sauce.
• Bake, covered, on 350 for 35 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

APRIL FOOLS' LASAGNA: BANANA-PUDDING CAKE

Steps:

• Looks like: Lasagna
• Make a box of instant vanilla pudding. Cut a loaf of pound cake into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange half of the slices in a 7-by-11-inch baking dish, then press 20 vanilla wafers into the cake. Make fake tomato sauce: Mix 3/4 cup strawberry jam with 5 crushed Oreo cookies and dollop half of the mixture over the wafers. Sweeten 3/4 cup ricotta cheese with 2 teaspoons sugar; dollop half over the jam. Top with 1 sliced banana and half of the pudding. Repeat with the remaining cake, 20 more wafers, the remaining jam and ricotta mixtures, another sliced banana and the remaining pudding. Top with shaved white chocolate, crushed vanilla wafers and mint; chill.

LASAGNA CASSEROLE - FAKE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Assembly instructions:.
• In a skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender; drain. Sprinkle with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine pasta, 3 cups of mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and remaining pepper; stir gently. Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish or shallow 3 quart baking dish.
• Top with beef mixture and spaghetti sauce (dish will be VERY full).
• Freeze. Cover tightly with foil. Seal additional cheese in package attached to pans.
• To serve:.
• Thaw all day in refrigerator.
• Baking Instructions:.
• Cover with new layer of foil and bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted ad bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• Serves 6 to 8 in a 13x9x2-inch pan OR.
• Serves 4 in each 8x8-inch pan.

CLASSIC LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add sausage, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's starting to brown but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until the tomato paste has turned a deeper brick red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes.
• Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into smaller, bite-size pieces and add them and the crushed tomatoes, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Make the lasagna: Heat oven to 375 degrees and set a large pot of salted water to boil.
• Set aside 1 cup mozzarella. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella, ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan and cream; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles in the large pot of salted boiling water until just softened (before they are even aldente), about 4 minutes. Drain and separate any noodles that are trying to stick together, slicking them with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from sticking further.
• Spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with a layer of noodles, avoiding any heavy overlap.
• Top with about 1 ¼ cups of sauce, and dollop ¼ of the cheese mixture over. Top with another layer of noodles and repeat three more times, ending with the last of the noodles (depending on size of the noodle/shape of the baking dish, you may have a few extra noodles) and the last of the sauce. Top with reserved 1 cup mozzarella and more Parmesan, if you like.
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to prevent any overflow from burning on the bottom of your oven).
• Bake until pasta is completely tender and cooked through and sauce is bubbling up around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake until lasagna is golden brown on top with frilly, crispy edges and corners, another 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

APRIL FOOLS' BAGEL: DOUGHNUT SANDWICH

Steps:

• Looks like: Bagel with Lox and Cream Cheese
• Slice a plain cake doughnut in half. Brush the top with honey and sprinkle with chopped chocolate-toffee bits. Beat 1/4 cup cream cheese, 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Spread on the bottom doughnut half. Top with thinly sliced papaya or mango to fake the smoked salmon. For tomato and scallions, roll out a red gummy candy (such as a Sunkist Fruit Gem) and chop up a green gummy candy.

TWENTY MINUTE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine spaghetti sauce mix, mushroom gravy mix, tomato paste, water and oil. Bring to a boil and stir in ground beef. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish layer the noodles, sauce and cheese; repeat layers, ending with cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

LIGHTER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix the spinach, cottage cheese, and egg in a large bowl.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the onion, garlic, mushrooms, and carrot until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, and stir until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Pour the pasta sauce and water into the skillet. Season with rosemary,oregano, and basil. Simmer sauce for 10 minutes.
• Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of the pan, and top with 3 noodles. Spoon an additional 1/3 of the sauce on the noodles; top with the spinach mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the rest of the sauce. Pour the vegetable juice evenly over the lasagna, and top with the remaining mozzarella. Cover the dish with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let lasagna rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.