Tasty Tuesday: Mini Lasagnas

I ran across 2 recipes for mini-lasagnas on Pinterest a few months ago and meshed them to make my own lazy version! I’m a sucker for Italian food – especially lasagna, but who’s got the time to wait an hour for it to cook?! (Have I mentioned I’m also an impatient cook?)

Solution: mini lasagnas! They’re not just for parties.

Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (any high heat oil will work)
• 1 sweet onion, chopped (you could substitute a zucchini, a squash, mushrooms or any other vegetable you have on hand. You only need about 1 cup)
• 24 wonton wrappers (most packs will include 48 so as a bonus, you can make it twice!)
• ~ 1 cup mozzarella (fresh, slices or shredded – whatever your preference!)
• ~ 1 cup of spaghetti / marinara sauce
• ~ 1 cup of ricotta cheese
• optional: shredded / grated Parmesan cheese
• optional: 1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

1. Chop the onion.

2. Heat about 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until light brown, stirring often. If you are using the garlic, add it with the onion.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Lightly spray cupcake pan with oil (if you don’t have spray, put some oil on a paper towel and wipe the cups to coat).

5. Place 2 wonton wrappers in each cup & press down gently (you will want to layer them so that they are overlapping slightly at the bottom of the cup and will cover all edges so your lasagna doesn’t fall out once it’s cooked).

6. While the onion is cooking, begin layering a spoonful of ricotta in the bottom of each wonton lined cup.

7. Once the onion is lightly browned, divide among the 12 cups.

8. If you are using the optional Parmesan cheese, sprinkle a little on top of the onion in each cup.

9. Add a spoonful of marinara / spaghetti sauce on top of the onion.

10. Last, top the cups with the mozzarella.

11. Bake the mini lasagnas at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. When the edges of the wontons begin to brown, the lasagnas are ready!

{On our last batch, Hubs had the brilliant idea to fold the excess wonton wrap back over the cheese before baking them. I have to say, he’s on to something!}

*BONUS Recipe!*

If you end up with an odd number of wonton wrappers left over, you can use them to make cheese sticks! I usually have string cheese on hand (PAIR it with a PEAR & you’ve got a balanced mid-morning snack!), but if you didn’t you could use your leftover fresh mozzarella or even roll up your slices.

You can make as many or as few as you’d like.

Cut the string cheese sticks into thirds. Lay the pieces diagonally on the wonton paper. Fold the edges in first and then roll up. Place the rolled cheese sticks on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes (you can also save time and energy by baking these with the lasagnas – you’ll bake them at a slightly lower temperature so they may take just a smidge longer). Be sure to flip once. My cheese always oozes out, but the crispy cheese tastes so good I don’t mind. If that bothers you, you could brush on some egg (or just use a little water) to seal before baking or cut the cheese in quarters instead of thirds. Use your leftover marinara for dipping.

Enjoy! 🙂