Cheap Lasagne recipes and questions about freezing please?

[Juliehafrancis]

Hi..

Have to make a couple of lasagne's for a friends housewarming next tuesday and I was wondering if anyone had a cheap and easy recipe for lasagne (my one is normally r. expensive and takes ages). I still want it to be yummy and not taste cheap!
I would ideally like to make it this friday and freeze it. If I do this how long will it take to defrost?

[woodpops]

So what does yours normally consist of to make it expensive????

[Juliehafrancis]

bottle of red wine, organic beef, lots of mozerella and parmesan, pancetta, roasted tomatoes etc.... and it also takes ages!

[hana]

veg option - couple cans of chopped tom, grated carrot, eggplant, zucchini, onions, and whatever else you want to add. Spices too. Layer this with a cheese sauce (I usually buy one) and then add grated mozza on top.

meat option - I use minced pork chicken or turkey with all the veg stuff up top.

V cheap!

[woodpops]

Oh God. It must taste out of this world for you to spend all that money and time making. All you need is a mince sause. Mince beef, onions, pepers, garlic, tinned toms and a bit of tom puree. Layer it with lasagne sheets and a white sauce. Top with lasagne sheets, white saues and coat some grated cheese in golden bread crumbs. Cook, cool, freeze. Fab served with salad and garlic bread and if your feeling piggy a few chips as well!!!

[bundle]

when making the sauce, saute the onions & garlic first then add tinned toms and whizz with handblender before adding to browned mince, veg, whatever you put in. makes a difference imo.

[KateandtheGirls]

Wow, it sounds good Julie. All I do for my lasagna is a basic tomato sauce (no meat), and layer it with lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese and mozarella cheese.

[Yorkiegirl]

Message withdrawn

[Pidge]

As well as the standard meat one I sometimes do a veggie one with a roasted vegetable layer (toms, peppers, aubergine, onion roasted in hot oven for 30-40mins) and a spinach and blue cheese layer (wilt spinach in pan, stir in blue cheese and milk/ cream till melted). Plus the usual small amount of white sauce plus parmesan to top it off. Uses lots of pots and pans, but not very hard! And probably cheaper than meat etc. In fact I never seem to manage to make a lasagne of any kind without using every pan in the kitchen!

[GeorginaA]

Our veggie lasagne recipe:

Vegetable Lasagne
Ingredients

225g carrots
225g courgettes
1 onion
100g celery
1 chicken stock cube (or vegetable stock cube if catering for vegetarians. I prefer the flavour the chicken stock cube gives though)
25g butter
2 level tablespoons of flour
½ pint of milk
salt and pepper (I tend to omit this as I forget, and it's probably healthier without and there's salt in the stock - still tasty)
175g lasagne (although this depends on the dish size - get the quick cook stuff not the one you have to precook)
175g grated cheddar cheese
Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F Gas Mark 5)
   
   
2. Place the chopped vegetables in a saucepan with the stock cube and ¼ pint boiling water. Yes, I know that doesn't look enough fluid, but trust me, it is. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
   
   
3. Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook gently for one minute, stirring. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Bring to the boil and continue to cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, then add seasoning to taste. If too thick, add a little stock from the vegetables.
   
   
4. Put layers of vegetables, lasagne, and only two thirds of the cheese (alternatively!) in a shallow, oblong or square, 3 pint dish, finishing with a layer of lasagne. Pour the sauce over the top and cover with the rest of the cheese.
   
   
5. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
   
   
6. Serve with salad and/or crusty bread.
   
   Serves: 4. Unless you're us where 2½ people get through the whole batch because we go back for seconds...