Skillet Lasagna

By msippigrl

BEST. LASAGNA. EVER. And NO baking! I like to use rotini noodles to gather up all that yummy sauce. Don't forget some hot, crusty garlic bread!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked broken up lasagna noodles or rotini (I had 3 c. dry rotini)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's)
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (8 oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preparation

Step 1

Cook pasta as directed on package. Rinse with hot water; set aside to drain in a colander.

In a large skillet that has a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until transparent. Stir in the ground beef, breaking it up as it browns. If using fresh garlic, stir it in now. Drain off fat, if needed.

Stir in the garlic powder, parsley, Italian seasoning, cajun seasoning, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; cook and stir for a couple of minutes to incorporate well. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the undrained tomatoes. When the mixture starts to bubble, cover the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta, cottage cheese, and half the shredded mozzarella to the meat mixture, stirring just to combine. Smooth out the top, then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup mozzarella on top. Cover the skillet; reduce the heat to Low, and simmer just until bubbly and cheese on top has melted.

Serve with some hearty, crusty garlic bread.