Skillet Lasagna

As I read this recipe, I thought to myself "this doesn't sound like it has much flavor". I don't want to make Skillet Lasagna with bottled spaghetti sauce, so I liked the idea of the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. I tweaked this recipe quite a bit, and I'm glad that I did. First, I used three Italian sausages, mixed with ground beef. I thought it gave a nice texture. The technique for cooking I switched around. First, I browned the sausage (out of the casing) and the beef, then drained it. In the same pan, I added a wee bit of olive oil and then cooked the onion; then added the garlic and red pepper flakes and then combined it with the sauce/meat mixture. I then added some Italian seasoning (I make my own with basil, oregano, garlic, rosemary & marjoram) for more seasoning.
I did use broken up lasagna noodles. I had to add about 1/3 cup more water, to cover the noodles. I let the noodles simmer for 20 minutes and they still didn't seem cooked, and a bit soupy. So, I left the lid off for about 8 more minutes. Still it seemed soupy, so I put the lid on and carefully drained most of the liquid. On low heat, I added Ricotta cheese (using a small scoop), the Parmesan and then I gave a generous layer of 4-cheese (provolone, mozzarella, fontina and I forget...I buy it at Trader Joe's.)
After leaving the lid on for 5 minutes, the cheese hadn't melted, so I broiled the whole skillet for 3-4 minutes. That did the trick! I cannot imagine lasagna with lots of melted cheese. My basil garden is finished, so I didn't have any to add, or I would have. It's a good recipe, but I think it would have been bland had I not added Italian seasoning and cheese to it. I have some waiting for lunch tomorrow, and I'll bet it will taste even better.

This was my first near-failure with this cookbook, though I should admit up front that I made a number of substitutions that likely affected my results. I know, Chris Kimball would NOT approve!

My two main complaints were the soupiness of the lasagna (i.e. its failure to properly thicken), and an overall lack of flavor complexity. The first of these is probably my fault - I used very lean ground beef (7% fat) rather than the meatloaf mix, and I'm guessing that the fat would have promoted thickening. Probably even more significant, I added 8 oz. of fresh mushrooms to the initial saute, and I know they released a good amount of water. I should have cut the added water proportionately.

Substitutions that I made and was happy with: I didn't have any lasagna noodles so used farfalle (bow ties) instead. I made an even layer of the raw noodles at the stage where the recipe has one add the broken lasagna noodles. This worked very well - the noodles were tender and perfectly cooked at the end of the 20 minute baking period. Also for lack of ricotta, I used cottage cheese that I'd slightly pureed with a stick blender. The warm melty cottage cheese was a yummy enhancement to the top of the lasagna, and just as good as ricotta would have been for me.

Lastly, I think the dish needed some spices! As called for in the recipe, I used plain diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. If I make this again, I will either add some Italian seasoning or use seasoned tomatoes.

Over all not a terrific success, but I may try it again some day. It was awfully easy.

Update: I'm adding a star to my review, because the leftovers of this dish were actually quite delicious. I think full incorporation of the cheese topping helped with thickening the sauce, and the flavor also improved with a little "aging".