Cheater’s Spinach and Sausage Lasagna

OK, Y’all know I can make pasta…FROM SCRATCH…right?! (For proof click here). Well, for this recipe (for which I gleaned the idea from Pinterest and adapted to my own fresher ingredients), I admit I cheated my little heart out and made NOTHING! AND…it only took me 10 minutes to assemble…IF THAT…and I know there are skeptics, but I’m telling you the truth!!! I’d NEVER lie to Y’all! EVER!

So here’s how I did it. It all hinges on pre-made fresh ravioli you can buy in a package at the grocery store-I bought mine at Walmart-or you are sure to find it at an Italian market if you’re so lucky as to have one near by. I’ll give you the list of ingredients I used at the end, but I encourage you to use your imagination and come up with your own variations of this (and share with the rest of us when you do please!).

Start with 2 jars of the your favourite pasta sauce. I like Classico’s Sweet Basil Marinara because it’s my favorite brand, but feel free to use whatever kind you like. Spray a 9 X 13 pan with spray olive oil so you don’t spend all your “cheatin’” time scrubbing the pan later.

Add about 1/4 of a jar of the pasta sauce to the bottom and spread around

Place uncooked (yes, I said UNCOOKED) prepackaged spinach and ricotta ravioli (I used Olivieri brand) in a single layer on the bottom of the pan

Now add a layer of fresh spinach

I had cooked up some spicy chorizo earlier so I just cut it up and threw it on top of the spinach (but note: you don’t have to add any meat at all…or if you like add whatever you have left over!)

 Then I added the rest of the first jar of the pasta sauce and a layer of pre-shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese

Then I started all over again with the ravioli, followed by spinach, sausage, AND another whole jar of pasta sauce

I topped the whole thing with the rest of the bag of pre-shredded cheese!

I surrounded the pan in foil so I didn’t waste all my “cheatin’” time on cleaning the oven later too!

Bake it at 350F for 50-60 minutes then let it rest for 10 minutes and serve.

THAT’S IT!

Ingredients:

2 – 650 ml (about 2.5 cups each) jars pasta sauce of your choice

1 large container  pre-washed fresh baby spinach

2 – 350 gram packages premade fresh ricotta and spinach ravioli (don’t substitute for a different kind as the ricotta replaces the cottage cheese in a typical lasagna and without it I think the whole thing will be too dry).

1 – 380 gram (just under 2 cups) package pre-shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix

4-5 cooked hot italian chorizo sausages cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Now next time I make this, I’m going to sub out the pasta sauce for an alfredo sauce and toss in a bunch of seafood instead of the sausage. How about you? Does this give YOU any ideas? I hope y’all will share if it does :)

From my house and home to you and yours!

Love,

Suzie