Dutch Oven Lasagna

[TooManyTents]

Lasagna was my the first meal I cooked all by myself in a dutch oven.  I had it at a roaring boil within 0 minutes, which turned everything into brown goo except for the /2" burned to the bottom.  My family said it was THE WORST meal they'd ever had and the dog wouldn't even eat it.  The good news is..... I've improved with practice

[Ziva David]

Dave, you're living proof a person can have a monumental flop and still go on to be a successful DO cook!  I'm glad you didn't give up on it.  I'll confess here the first time I made this recipe was for the Clemlaws, and it got a touch scorched on the bottom.  It was still perfectly edible and tasty, though.  But I'll also confess I had my doubts about using the recipe since it was intended for the microwave, therefore using no bottom heat.  But I subscribe to the theory that nothing ventured is nothing gained, so I'm glad I tried it.  We love lasagna but I hate all the prep with the usual recipes, so I was determined to see if I could make that recipe work.  Steve, I'm glad it worked out for you.  Looks yummy!  So now you not only don't have to be afraid of the DO, you don't have to be afraid of using recipes that were never intended for the DO!  What's farther from DO cooking than microwave cooking, after all?Nice DO stand.  What did you use for the legs?Rae

[Beerlifter]

Had an old stool out in the garage that we never used so I took the wood seat off of it and riveted some tool hanger to a cookie sheet there ya go. I wasn't gonna be bending over all weekend messing with the DO so I had to think up something! And once again Rae was my insperation!!!

[Spirit Deer]

Thanks, Steve!  Glad to have gotten the wheels turning for you.  I love those tool clips.  Using those keeps the tabletops from sliding around.

[kissingWolf]

grr figures....let the man talk and he takes all the credit. What my dear hubby(beerlifter) didn't mention is that we used your idea, just not the recipe. I modified my own recipe and was truly amazed that the noodles cooked through. Once again Rae, I stand and salute you, you are DA BEST!

[Spirit Deer]

Back atcha, Laura.As for the recipe, whatever works!  There are a thousand ways to make lasagna.  The idea is to re-think having to use "Dutch oven" recipes, when there are so many other options for tasty food out there.

[kissingWolf]

oh hunni..now that we have actually gone "dutch oven" i can't wait to get out there and do ore...I'm officially a "DO ADDICT" hee hee

[Spirit Deer]

Uh, exactly what are you waiting for?  Aren't you allowed to burn charcoal in your back yard?  [;)]I do a lot of experimenting at home.  That way, I have a pantry full of food to replace anything that doesn't turn out.

[MrBigDog2U]

I plan to make this at the Oregon Fall Rally potluck this year.  I'll post reviews after the event.

This is such an easy recipe to make - and was absolutely delicious. I think it lasted all of about six, maybe seven, minutes before the last traces were scraped from the bottom of the DO. If I would have known how popular it would be and how many people we were going to have at the potluck, I would have made a double batch (and I'm sure it still would have been all gone).

I have to admit I cheated a little bit and - instead of using tomato sauce and Italian seasoning, I bought a jar of Prego spaghetti sauce and used it (resulted in lasagna with mushrooms).

[Ziva David]

If you're referring to the original recipe of mine, which I converted from a microwave recipe, it calls for spaghetti sauce, so you didn't actually cheat!  We just don't really like canned spaghetti sauce so I make it up using tomato sauce and my own spices instead.

[rabird]

I used hot Italian sausage & onion in place of burger, 1/2 cottage cheese 1/2 ricotta, Italian cheese crumbles (whatever that is), ...

First time I made lasagna without cooking the noodles. Worked flawlessly. Watching Cee Dub all these years is paying off!

[Ziva David]

It's easy to make your own cheese crumbles.  Freeze, then thaw the cheese, and it crumbles nicely.  Doesn't work for all cheeses, but for many of them such as Swiss and Cheddar.

[Baytoven]

Spirit Deer, I haven't been able to get a similar baked pasta recipe to work at home in the oven.  The pasta is always very undercooked, even though I add the recommended amount of water.  I didn't see mini lasagna pasta at the store, so what pasta do you recommend, that is guaranteed to cook adequately?

[Ziva David]

Baytoven, are you using a lid?  It's critical to keep the moisture in.  If you don't have a lid, cover the baking dish tightly with foil.

Also, make sure there is sauce covering every bit of the pasta.

Mini-bowtie pasta or anything similar to that should work.  Even spaghetti broken into short lengths.

Don't be afraid to taste-test a piece of the pasta to make sure it's done to your liking.  If it looks like it's not getting done right, try lengthening the cooking time and/or adding a little more liquid.

Hope this helps. 

Rae

[Ziva David]

I keep thinking about using hot Italian sausage for lasagna.  That sounds so good.  Thanks for the idea!