Recipe time: Mini lasagna cups

I love pasta.  I'm half Italian, and pasta was pretty much a staple at every holiday with my Sicilian grandmother.  She passed her cooking skills to my mother, who did her best to pass them to me.  I'm not going to tell you I'm an expert chef, but I can turn out some decent dishes, and lasagna is one of my favorites.

Recently, I was perusing Pinterest and came across a recipe for mini muffin-size lasagna cups based on wonton wrappers.  Well, I didn't have any wonton wrappers at home, but I did have a box of lasagna noodles in the pantry.  With some modifications to the original, this recipe was born.

First, boil a package of lasagna noodles (you won't use them all, but you can use the leftovers for broken noodles with sauce, or make another half batch.  Once the noodles are cooked (I would recommend softer than al dente, because they will not stay in the oven as long as a traditional pan of lasagna), rinse in cold water, and add a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.  Pull the noodles, one at a time, from the pot and lay them out on a cutting board.  Use a spatula edge or knife to cut the noodles into thirds.

Next, preheat your oven to 350 and spray two muffin pans with nonstick coating.  Place a section of lasagna noodle in the bottom, and press into the cup (don't worry - it will mold a little better once you add the filling).

Mix in a bowl:
1 container of part-skim or whole milk ricotta (15 oz)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
A few leaves of fresh basil, cut chiffonade style, if available
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup parmigiana cheese
A splash or two of milk to make it easier to mix
NOTE:  Feel free to modify!  Add an egg for a bit of richness, or about a 1/2 package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove extra moisture.  

Top each of the noodle pieces in the muffin cups with dollop of filling and top with marinara or meat sauce (I use Giada's marinara recipe, omit the bay leaves and add cooked ground beef, and then smooth it all out with an immersion blender). 

Next, top the lasagna cups with another piece of noodle (trim to fit). 

Spoon more sauce on the top, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese:

Cover with foil (this is a step I omitted and the edges came out a little crispier than I'd like), and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty and you have crispy edges on the sides.  Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes.  Easy to refrigerate or freeze and reheat.  Serve with extra sauce and parmigiana cheese.  Enjoy!