This 10-minute “cheat lasagna” will become your weeknight lifesaver

Trine Jensen-Burke

Ah, the weeknight dinner-rush. A time when mum and dad are trying to cook something borderline nutritious and edible while simultaneously overseeing home-work spellings, doing laundry and trying get children ready for bed.

We feel ya – it’s hectic.

But what you need is a handful of dishes that will save you when life doesn’t leave a lot of time for cooking.

So without further ado: Meet your new weeknight life-saver: The Super-Easy Ravioli “Lasagna”.

Seriously, you will want this one in your repertoire. It is fast to prepare, cheap and tastes GREAT. In other words, a total winner in our books.

This is what you need:

1 pound of good quality lean mince

1 jar of tomato sauce (always have jars of tomato sauce in your pantry, they are a great base for SO many things. I tend to use ones that have ingredients like garlic, chili and basil, for some extra flavor)

2 packets for ravioli (I use ones filled with spinach and cheese, but there are lots of options out there. You can use frozen of fresh, whatever you like or have handy.)

Grated cheese (if you have both mozzarella and a little Parmesan you are laughing, but mozzarella on its own will work just fine too.)

This is what you do:

Heat oven to 225 degrees. Grease an oven dish and set aside.

Cook your mince in a pan till it is done.

To assemble the lasagna, spread half of a jar of tomato sauce evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the ravioli in an even layer on top of the sauce. Spread half of the mince evenly on top of the ravioli, followed by the remaining half of a jar of sauce and half of the cheese. Do this all again one more time. (So that means a second round of sauce, ravioli, mince, etc.)

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for a final 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven. If you have some spare Parmesan cheese, grate a little over the dish, and the same goes for fresh basil leaves. They will add that last touch and make your cooking smell even more impressive.