lasagna grilled cheese

lasagna grilled cheese 1243

I know what you are probably thinking as you read this…

“Really, Natalie? Lasagna inside of a grilled cheese? Is that really necessary?”

No, of course not.

But the best things never really are, are they?

This idea came to me one day at lunch. I had brought some leftover lasagna and garlic bread to work, being the frugal girl that I am, and upon eating them realized that if I put my lasagna on top of my garlic bread I could consume twice the food in half the time!

It turns out that together they are a force to be reckoned with. Better than either two could ever dream of being on their own.

Then, lightbulb.

I immediately texted Future Husband to let him know of my genius plans.

“LASAGNA GRILLED CHEESE WITH GARLIC BREAD CRUST! PREPARE YOUR ARTERIES!”

lasagna grilled cheese 1252

It’s a simple equation, really. Lasagna = Good. Grilled cheese = Good. Lasagna + Grilled Cheese = Double Good!

Am I right?  I mean, I’m pretty sure the logic there is flawless…

FH, though initially confused by the idea, accepted its genius at his first bite. In fact, he loved it so much that he told me I should do a a whole post just about the bread, because the bread alone was THAT GOOD.

I won’t do that to you though, I’ve already drawn this out enough by first sharing the lasagna recipe with you separately, of course you can use whatever lasagna recipe you like.

So here you are… Lasagna grilled cheese… In all of its glory.

Delicious homey comfort food for those of us who don’t plan on donning bikinis anytime soon.

lasagna grilled cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 sandwiches

Serving Size: 1 sandwich

Ingredients

    For the sandwich
  • 4 slices sturdy bread
  • 2 slices leftover lasagna
  • 2 slices mozzarella
  • 2 slices provolone
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • Garlic butter
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped or smashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

    Make the garlic butter
  1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a small pan. Add garlic and salt; continue cooking over low/medium-low until very fragrant and cloves are lightly-browned and the salt has dissolved. Keep an eye on the butter making sure not to burn either the butter or the garlic.
  2. Remove from heat and pour into heat-proof container, straining out the garlic cloves. Set aside until ready to use.
  3. Make the grilled cheese
  4. Gently re-heat the lasagna in the microwave. It doesn't need to get super hot but you will definitely want to take the chill off.
  5. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Arrange your mise en place so you can work quickly.
  6. Brush the outsides of your bread slices with garlic butter and gently press into the parmesan cheese. You can butter the insides if you want to, I mean at this point our arteries won't really notice the difference.
  7. Place two pieces of bread with the insides-down (buttered-sides up) on the skillet to toast.
  8. Once toasted flip the bread and top 1 slice of each sandwich with mozzarella and lasagna then with provolone. Top with other slice of bread (buttered side still up) and tent with foil (or a lid) until cheese just begins to melt, being careful not to burn the bottom bread.
  9. Carefully flip the sandwiches to toast the second side and tent again with foil if the cheese still needs help melting. Continue cooking until the bottom is completely toasted.
  10. Remove from heat and cool slightly before serving.

Notes

* This would also be great as an open-faced sandwich. Just place the cheese and lasagna on one piece of the bread and tent to melt the cheese. Enjoy with a fork and knife.

* I used skillet lasagna for this grilled cheese but I suspect regular lasagna would work just fine (and be a bit less messy).

https://wee-eats.com/2014/04/28/lasagna-grilled-cheese/

lasagna grilled cheese - wee-eats.com

lasagna for two

lasagna

I’ve been working longer days the past few weeks. This means I get out of work late, much later than BF would like, because it means I don’t have quite as much time to make dinner before he’s ready to chew his own leg off. In order to keep all of BF’s limbs attached, I’ve made an effort to pre-make at least one meal a week. Sometimes he’s even lucky enough for me to make one of his favorite things : Lasagna.

Who doesn’t love lasagna? The best part is, I can make it all the day before. I just refrigerate it overnight, and then BF pops it in the oven towards the end of my shift. Voila – dinner is ready by the time I get home. As an added bonus – BF gets to feel like he made dinner that night. 🙂

I almost didn’t post the recipe, since it uses a jar sauce, so I kinda feel like it isn’t REALLY a “recipe”. Then I figured, who doesn’t have days where they get home from work too exhausted or too late to make dinner? And who doesn’t resort to jarred sauces once in awhile? Especially if you can find one you like (for me – that’s Trader Joe’s Bolognese).

Since we’re a small family of two (sometimes three) people, I make mine in  a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, and it’s still enough to feed us for a couple of meals. If you want to make more, just use a larger pan, or if you want to make some for later, just make an additional batch in one of those foil loaf pans and store it in the freezer until the mood strikes. (Or, in my case, to feed the boy if I have to leave town for work).

Just try to mangle yours slightly less when it’s time for your photo-op 🙂

Lasagna for TwoMakes one 9 x 5-inch loaf of lasagna

[ Printable Recipe ]

  • ½ (1.25 lb) package Italian turkey sausage (sweet or hot)
  • ½ lb lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
  • 1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 1 package whole milk ricotta (trust me on this, please don’t use skim. If you’re going to use skim, just skip the ricotta altogether)
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or a couple sprinkles each of basil and oregano)
  • Shredded Italian cheese
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Remove sausage from casings and cook with ground beef in a sauté pan over medium-high until brown. Add onion and continue cooking until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in your jar of sauce and lower heat to simmer.
  2. While sauce is simmering, mix Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper into the ricotta. (If you have milk or cream on hand, you can add a splash or two to thin the ricotta just a little bit). Set aside.
  3. Assemble the lasagna: Put just enough sauce to coat the bottom of the loaf pan, and place a lasagna noodle on top. Scoop meat sauce mixture into a layer over top.Spread ricotta mixture onto one side of another lasagna noodle, place ricotta side down into pan. Top with more meat sauce, and repeat until you’re out of room.Once you’ve reached your last noodle, add your remaining meat sauce and sprinkle with Italian cheese. Feel free to grate some parmesan over top, maybe sprinkle some Italian seasoning.
  4. Now you can either – bake in a 375 degree oven until cheese is hot and bubbly (about 30 minutes) OR cool, cover, and refrigerate.

To bake from refrigerated, take out of the fridge while the oven preheats to 375. Once the oven is preheated, bake the lasagna, covered with foil, 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake additional 15 minutes or so until cheese is hot and bubbly

TIPS

– Grease your pan or, if you’re extra lazy like me, just line it with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.

– Adding fresh parmesan on top will encourage browning. If you think it’s ready but it just won’t get brown enough, feel free to pop the broiler on for a minute or so.

– Another trick – Keep a baguette in your freezer. Let the baguette sit, wrapped in foil, at room temperature while the lasagna bakes, then throw it into the oven for the last 15-20 minutes or so of baking and it will be just as good as new.