Lasagna a-la Microwave
Who doesn't love Italian? Pizza, pasta, lasagna, made with delicious basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and so on make one really crave! I have always been a big fan of lasagna, and always wanted to try making one myself. Alas! I went from recipe to recipe wishing there might be something that could teach me how to cook lasagna without an oven. Failure struck me hard, and I decided to get creative. Thus I modified the well known oven baked lasagna recipe to suit my needs (that includes the use of a gas oven and a microwave), and believe me, it turned out great!
Here is the recipe if any of you would like to give it a shot.
Ingredients:
1. Wheat noodles - 200 g
2. Processed cheese - 100 g
3. Egg - 1
4. Italian spices - Rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme (to taste)
5. Butter - 1 tsp
6. Oil - 2 tbsp
7. Chopped onions - 1 medium
8. Chopped capsicum (Green pepper) - 1 medium
9. Boneless chicken breast - 1
10. Vinegar - 1 tsp
11. Tomatoes - 2 medium
12. Tomato ketchup - About 5-6 tbsp
Procedure:
Prepare the chicken
1.Cut the chicken into half a bite size pieces
2. Marinade the chicken with vinegar for about half an hour
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. Add chopped onions, capsicum, and chicken
5. Fry on medium heat till the chicken turns slightly brown
6. Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pan
7. Add the tomato ketchup
8. Cover the pan, and let the chicken cook in the sauce in low heat
9. Once the chicken is nearly cooked, add some salt to taste.
10. Mix well, and remove from the heat
Tip: If the sauce seems dry add some more ketchup, and also add salt accordingly.
Prepare the noodles
1. Boil the noodles as per package instructions, and set it aside
Prepare the cheese
1. Grate the cheese
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the grated cheese with Italian spices
3. Break the egg into the bowl, and add some salt
4. Mix well, and set aside
Enter the Microwave
1. In a bowl that is both microwave and grill safe, spread the butter evenly
2. Place a layer of the chicken coated with sauce in the bowl
3. Top that with a layer of the noodles
4. Add a layer of the cheese mixture on top of it
5. Repeat the layers in the same order till only about 2 tbsp of noodles and 2 tbsp of the cheese mixture is left
6. Place the remaining noodles at the top of all layers towards the center
7. Add the remaining cheese mixture around the noodles
8. Cook it in the combination mode (mircro+grill) for about 12 minutes
9. Check to see if the chicken is done, if not cook for a few more minutes
10. Switch the oven to just grill, and cook it for another 5 minutes
Serve and relish!