Speedy Mini Lasagna Stacks with Pesto and Marinara Sauce

How would you like a super fast way to make lasagna?  I know I do a lot of pasta making from scratch on this site and I wanted to show you guys a really fast way to make lasagna without having to make or boil noodles and that would cook up much faster than regular lasagna.  This is also a much lighter lasagna - it doesn't have any bechamel or ricotta cheese in it, just a little sprinkling of mozzarella on top to finish it off. And it's incredibly delicious. In fact, I think it's maybe my all time favorite lasagna.

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Salmon Ravioli

 

I have some upcoming pasta classes in the next few weeks and it's always fun to demonstrate to students how easy it is to make homemade ravioli.  There's so many ways to make ravioli, but my favorite way is to use this mold.  I can make ravioli so fast with this thing.  All you have to do is to roll out the pasta sheets, press into your mold, place a little filling in each well and lay another sheet on top.  Flip the mold over, cut and separate the ravioli.  It's fun.  The mold enables you to make nice uniform ravioli, which will cook up evenly.

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Pasta Pie

 

Happy 2013!  I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We certainly did, with our boys all home and lots of cooking and friends over and a few too many bottles of Prosecco opened.  I know a lot of food sites will be giving their readers recipes for juice cleanses and salads and lighter dishes for the new year, but not me!  I'm giving you Pasta Pie. 

This is a real comfort dish - this pie has a meat crust and is filled with pasta, cheese and tomato sauce. The meat mixture is basically just the same recipe that you would use if you were making meatballs, but you press it into a deep pie pan. The whole thing bakes up in the oven and comes out nice and crispy on top.  You cut it into wedges and serve it with a dollop of extra marinara sauce.  It's great on a cold winter's night.

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