Lasagna Cups

 

recipe adapted from the The No-Fuss Family Cookbook by Ryan Scott

  • cooking spray
  • 1 heaping tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, grated 
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1lb. ground beef (90% lean)
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
  • a heavy pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 24oz. jar of your favorite marinara sauce
  • 1 cup full-fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 12 oz. package square wonton wrappers
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 325F

Liberally spray 18 wells of two twelve-cup muffin tins with cooking spray.

Combine the olive oil, grated onion (with any juice released while grating), and garlic in a large saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the onion softens and the garlic becomes fragrant about 5 minutes.  Add the ground beef to the onion-garlic mixture and break up with a spoon. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper and as many red pepper flakes as you can handle. Stir to combine, reduce heat to medium and cook until almost all the moisture has evaporated from the mixture, 12 to 15 minutes. 

Drain any fat from the meat and stir in the marinara sauce. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta, cottage cheese, parsley. Season with remaining salt & pepper to taste and set aside. 

Arrange wonton wrappers in each prepared muffin cup to create a cup with about an inch of overhang on top. Drop about a heaping teaspoon of shredded mozzarella into the bottom of each cup followed by a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture. Push filling down with a spoon. Sprinkle with a little more mozzarella and place a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on top of each cup. Top each cup with the rest of the meaty marinara and sprinkle tops with remaining mozzarella. 

Spray the tops of the filled cups with cooking spray. Bake until cheese is browned and the wonton wrappers are crisp, 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.