Mini Lasagna Cups

This recipe appeared in The Hinton Voice as my April Column also called "Cooking With Jax".

[The concept for these came one day when I was trying to brainstorm some quick and easy dinner ideas that would freeze well so I could make them ahead of time.  Most can agree that there’s really nothing better than coming home from a long day of work to having a meal already pre-cooked for you.  With my husband and I both working long hours this month, being able to pop something out of the freezer and into the oven after a hard day of work is pretty much essential.  It’s so easy to fall into the same routine, making the same recipes week after week.  Even though this recipe is a common favourite, mixing up the delivery every once in awhile is surefire way to spice things up in the kitchen.

The idea was to make individual lasagna portions that would be easy to freeze using as little packaging as possible. I knew right away I wanted to use a muffin tin to bake them, though I wasn’t really sure what to use as the noodle.  I debated using actual lasagna noodles at first, but didn’t think they would hold up very well in a muffin tin so I decided to go with wonton wrappers instead.  Not only do the wrappers contour to the shape of the muffin tins really easily, they also taste an awful lot like actual lasagna noodles once they are cooked.]

Recipes makes 12 lasagna cups

Ingredients

- 24 wonton wrappers

-  1 lb hamburger

-  ½ medium onion

-  2 cloves of garlic

-  ½ tsp each oregano and basil

-  1 jar of your favourite tomato sauce

-  ¾ cup ricotta cheese

-  1/3 cup finely chopped spinach

-  1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly oil a 12 cup muffin pan and place a wonton wrapper in each, being sure to press down the sides.

Pre-heat a large frying pan over medium heat.  Fry hamburger with chopped onions, garlic, and herbs until hamburger is cooked through.  Drain access fat.

Add tomato sauce to hamburger meat, continuing to cook for 2-3 minutes to reduce sauce slightly.

Combine Ricotta cheese with salt and pepper and divide evenly amongst the wontons.

Divide ½ the meat mixture on top of the ricotta, and then top with finely chopped spinach, and a light sprinkle of mozzarella (be sure to retain most of the cheese for the final topping).

Top with another wonton, again being sure to seal the sides.  Top with remaining meat sauce, and then sprinkle on remaining cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or so, until the cheese is nicely browned and bubbly and the wontons are crisp.

Top with fresh basil or oregano (optional).

If freezing, let cool completely, then transfer entire muffin tin to freezer.  Once the lasagna cups are frozen, transfer them into a freezer bag for easy storage.  Take 1 or two out; then re-heat in either the microwave or oven. 

Calories - 175   Fat - 7    Carbs – 14     Protein - 15   Fibre – 3

Enjoy!