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| Beef, Andouille and Mushroom Lasagna |
Beef, Andouille and Mushroom Lasagna
Lasagna can be a bit daunting to prepare, so I have to give a shout-out to Campbell's for this amazingly easy and super delicious lasagna recipe, made with ground beef, andouille sausage and mushrooms.It's no secret that Campbell's soups are a regular pantry item in this household - we in the south love our southern béchamel sauce - otherwise known to the rest of y'all as Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I admit that I never thought to use it as a sauce in lasagna though. Course, I would have never thought to try it with a baked spaghetti or in a crawfish etouffée either. Very clever. It works perfectly and is just delicious. This is a keeper and a go-to I will definitely be making again. It came together fast and was so easy it's ridiculous!
Couple of cooking notes. The original recipe, which you can find here {along with a boatload of other great recipe ideas from Campbell's} called for a smaller pan than I had, so I used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and increased the milk, pasta sauce, and lasagna noodles. I also southernized it a bit with an almost Trinity, some mild andouille sausage, and since I used a generic Great Value pasta sauce, I bumped up the flavor with a few seasonings and herbs, and added in a small can of mushrooms.
By the way, do check out the Campbell's Kitchen site when you have a moment. There are some fantastic recipes there and they even have a recipe cloud so you can select recipes by mood for pete's sake! Can you say "Chocolaty?" I LOVE that site, and no they did not pay me to say that!
The original recipe also called for layering it a bit different, by putting half of the meat and pasta sauce mixture in the bottom of the pan, topped by 3 noodles, then all of the mushroom sauce, another layer of 3 noodles, the other half of the meat sauce, ending with the last 3 noodles and a topping of the cheese.
Instead, I wanted a layer of noodles on the bottom with only just a smidge of the meat and pasta sauce underneath - just enough so the noodles would not stick and burn. I hated to see all that meat sauce just sitting on the bottom of the pan! On top of that bottom layer of noodles I wanted half of the meat sauce, topped by more noodles, then all of the cream sauce, more noodles, the other half of the meat sauce, noodles and then the cheese. Unfortunately, I realized a little too late that I was a bit short on lasagna noodles, having used some of the package recently to make my Skillet Broken Lasagna, so I had to make do and couldn't layer it how I wanted to. I will remedy this next time!
This was one of those made-on-the-fly-right-out-of-the-pantry meals, and I only had oven ready lasagna noodles on hand. With only a light layer of cheese on top, that top layer of the uncooked noodles had a bit more tooth than I like, requiring a sharp knife to cut through it. Next time I make this, I will either use regular cooked lasagna noodles as the recipe calls for, or I will at least soften those top noodles a bit with some boiling water. I think that will work well with that top layer, since the rest of the layers of the oven ready pasta cooked just fine.
Seriously, you must give this a try, it is so very easy and simply delicious - enjoy!
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Recipe: Super Easy Beef, Andouille and Mushroom Lasagna
©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Ingredients
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 45 min | Yield: About 4 to 6 servings
Instructions
- 1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 pound mild andouille or other smoked sausage, finely chopped
- 1 (approx. 26 ounce) jar or can pasta sauce, or equivalent homemade
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste, optional
- 1 tablespoon of dried parsley
- 1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
- 15 oven-ready lasagna noodles (or use regular and cook them, setting aside)
- 1-1/2 to 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup and milk until smooth and creamy; set aside. If using regular lasagna noodles, prepare as directed on the package. If using oven ready noodles, soften five of those noodles by placing them into a baking pan and pouring boiling water over the top of them, moving them around until slightly softened. These will be for the top layer.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onion and bell pepper, cooking until tender but not browned. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the beef, breaking up the meat into fine pieces; drain off the fat and return the beef & vegetable mixture to the skillet. Add the sausage and cook until warmed through. Stir in the pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, and parsley, and cook just until warm; set aside.
Spoon just enough of the meat and pasta sauce mixture on the bottom of baking dish to lightly coat the bottom. This is to help prevent the noodles from sticking and burning. Layer 4 noodles lengthwise, slightly overlapping, on the bottom, adding a fifth noodle at the end. You'll have to break off a bit of the end of that noodle.
Spread one-half of the meat and pasta sauce sauce mixture on top of that layer of noodles and scatter half of the canned mushrooms on top. Top with five more noodles. Spread all of the mushroom cream sauce on top of that layer of noodles. Add five more noodles. On top of that, spread the remaining meat and pasta sauce and scatter the remaining mushrooms on top. Layer the last five softened lasagna noodles on top and sprinkle the cheese all over the top.
Spray one side of a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray, and cover the lasagna with the sprayed side down. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove, turn the oven up to broil, uncover the lasagna and place under the broiler for only a minute or so, or until cheese is lightly browned. Keep a very close eye on the lasagna while it is under the broiler so it doesn't burn!
Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
Serves about 8
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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©Deep South Dish
Check These Recipes Out Too Y'all!
Baked Spaghetti
Ground Beef and Mac and Cheese Casserole
Skillet Meals: Broken Lasagna
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