Tasty Tuesday--Lasagna Loaf

If you're anything like me, you're searching for new ideas for meals! I try to make a new recipe once a week. It's been a tradition of ours for a few years now. It's a great way to try new things and expand our dinner options! I also try to create those comfort food we all love, but make them doable for the working family. Like meatloaf, lasagna, spaghetti...just to name a few. These meals usually take a long time to prepare and we find ourselves only enjoying them on the weekends. Over the last few years, I've mastered (in my opinion) the homemade spaghetti sauce like my mom makes, but in the crock pot and making meat loaf in the crock pot too. This allows us to enjoy them any day of the week. Recently, I decided to try a shortened version of lasagna. This is perfect for smaller families and weeknight meals.

Lasagna Loaf
serves 4

Ingredients
4 no-boil lasagna sheets
1 1/3 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c grated parmesan
12 meatballs (prepared or frozen/thawed/heated) and cut in half (I used frozen turkey Italian meatballs)
Jar of favorite sauce or sauce recipe below (Perfect for sneaking in extra veggies)
Sauce:
1/3 c grated onion
1/3 c grated carrot
1 Tbls minced garlic
1 Tbls tomato paste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can crushed tomatoes (15 oz)
3 Tbls chopped fresh basil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat loaf pan with nonstick spray. To make sauce: sweat onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste and pepper flakes in the same skillet over medium heat until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and basil; cook until slightly thickened, 3-5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Cover bottom of prepared pan with 1/4 cup of sauce.

Layer a lasagna sheet, 1/4 cup sauce, a third of the meatballs, 1/3 cup mozzarella, and 2 Tbls Parmesan. Repeat layering two more times. Top final lasagna sheet with 1/4 cup sauce, and the remaining cheeses.
Bake lasagna loaf until cheese is golden brown and bubbly, 25-30 minutes; let cool 10 minutes before serving.

From the picture above, you can see this dinner was a success!