Cooks Joy

Lasagna cups and Mini Lasagna with Vegetables

Final day of the blogging marathon “Kid’s Delight” series and I am back with yet another of my son’s favorite “Lasagna”. This is a healthy lasagna with loads of vegetables, minimal cheese and is a joint venture of K and me. What is Lasagna? It is nothing but a flat pasta which is layered between cheese, sauce and vegetables or meat. I decided on Lasagna but wanted to do something different and hence the cup version was born. To be frank I was shivering in the knees until I saw the end product. I even had the backup mini lasagna just in case .. you know what I mean . But all was well and my son enjoyed it thoroughly and the lasagna cups will be on the menu when cooking for kids particularly. So a big thanks goes to K for helping out with this multi-step recipe and for taking pictures while I had my hands dirty trying to assemble the layers.Bear with me friends because this is a long post with lots of pictures as I fell too much in love with the recipe that I absolutely could not skip any step. Keep reading and you will know why Don’t forget to check out the tips section for variations and for making regular lasagna instead of the mini version.

Ingredients
Few strips lasagna (each cup takes one strip of lasagna)
2 tsp olive oil

3 cups mushrooms sliced
3 zucchinis diced

1 packet frozen spinach (16 oz)
1 carrot grated

Cheese (use as much or as little)

Tomato sauce – I used store bought Prego Sauce (quantity varies depending on layers)

Paneer (Indian cottage cheese and is optional)

Salt to taste

Pepper to tasteMethod

First get the lasagna noodles going. Boil a pot of water and cook lasagna according to package instructions.

Lets get the vegetables going simultaneously. Heat a little olive oil and add the mushrooms. Saute until they shrink to almost half the size. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan.

Repeat the same for zucchini. Saute, add salt and pepper and remove from pan.

Next goes the spinach.

Once we have all the vegetables ready we can start assembling the layers or in this case cups. For the cups cut each pasta strip into 2.

Take a muffin pan and grease with spray and place the half strip in the bottom of the muffin cup.

Next we want to form a cup. So slice the other half of the strip vertically and place along the muffin cup sides as shown in the collage thus forming a cup. Next comes the layers. There is no hard and fast rule here. Just use your imagination.

First it is pasta cup. Then I placed mushroom followed by a little cheese. Next went the spinach followed by a little paneer for a change. Then sauce followed by zucchini. Next top it with some cheese. For a little color I added grated carrots. Phew .. have I confused you’ll enough yet.

To make it simple it is normally pasta, vegetable, sauce and cheese. You get the idea right.

I have to say that I just love this collage. Don’t you’ll

Place in a preheated 375F oven until cheese melts since everything else is already cooked. The cups look adorable right.

Cheese has melted and time for the finish. I would suggest closing the pan with foil since the top of the cups dried out a bit. I am pretty excited at this point and so was my son. How cute does that look? The cups were all gone in the next few minutes

I ended up with extra strips or should I say that it was part of my backup !!. Anyway we used it up by layering in a 5.8 cup boroseal glass container from LocknLock. The container was deep enough for layers and was a perfect size for 2 servings or cut the layers for a single serving. This is a neat lunch box idea too. Bake and refrigerate for lunch the next day

. I have to mention that it is leak proof and made of glass making it even more ideal for lunch.

So here goes the pictures for the layering. So it is pasta, spinach, sauce and paneer first.

Next layer pasta, mushrooms, cheese and sauce. No fixed order for this recipe.

Again pasta, zucchini, grated carrots and cheese. Are we done yet?

Can you’ll see the layers? It looks yummy right.

Phew .. finally into the oven at 375F until cheese melts. Place in broil finally for the cheese to brown nicely. Just writing this post makes me hungry.

So here I have saved a piece for you’ll to have. Yum yum .. Kids enjoyed the cups and we enjoyed the mini version. I should say the mini version was totally moist and I did not miss the loads of cheese at all.

Healthy vegetable lasagna ready.

Enjoy!

Interested in the cute leak proof glass container?

Lock & Lock Glass, Clear Heat Resistant Glass, Rectangular, 5.8-Cup Size, 1.35-Liter

Tips
1. Use any vegetable of choice and layer as needed. No rule here.
2. Mix ricotta cheese and spinach and use this to layer along with sauce.
3. Eggs can also be scrambled and added along with spinach.
4. If making a regular lasagna use a 9×13 pan and layer the full strips and add toppings as needed.

Sending the Lasagna to the following events.
Herbs and flowers-Mushrooms hosted by RS originally started by PJ.
Fruit/Veggie of the month – Spinach hosted by Reshmi originally started by Priya.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Priya Suresh, Srivalli, Usha
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid’s Special: Vardhini,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Harini, Suma, Veena
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Aarthi, Kalyani, Pavani, Shylaja
Summer Coolers: PJ, Vaishali
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast: Sushma Pinjala,

49 Responses to Lasagna cups and Mini Lasagna with Vegetables

Hi Vardhini …thanks for dropping by , i found your blog absolutely yummy. The pictures are just great !!
Loved this idea of lasagna cups

sangeeta says: May 30, 2011 at 4:23 am
Wonderful and Classic…Great job!!

Moshika says: May 27, 2011 at 7:41 pm
gr8 work done!! Lots of things are there to learn from you.

khushi says: May 27, 2011 at 12:47 pm
That is one cool idea i must say:-) lasagna cups…cant get any better than this:-) Wud love to gobble a few cups..!!
Thank u 4 stopping by my space and leaving such lovely comments..

U have a great collection here…happy to follow u to stay tuned to ur new recipes…

Ramya says: May 27, 2011 at 11:38 am
Hey there Vardhini , what a cool idea with the mini lasagne , I love it . Thanx for stopping by my blog and leaving the wonderful comment . Will def be back to explore .

Shabs says: May 25, 2011 at 10:49 am
the snap has come out really well…i have never seen these before…looks like a really interesing recipe…:)

miri goes phishing! says: May 25, 2011 at 7:44 am
very interesting recipe. I love lasagna and this version is lovely i liked those cups will try.

Harika's Kitchen says: May 24, 2011 at 12:20 pm
I love lasagna and eat it oft when we dine out. Your idea of making mini lasagna cups is brilliant–would love to get hold of one right now!

Plateful says: May 24, 2011 at 10:14 am
Feasty yummy treats,fabulous idea.

Pushpa says: May 24, 2011 at 6:02 am
This is absolutely amazing!! Love your recipe, instructions,photos !!

SinFoodie says: May 24, 2011 at 5:03 am
Looks so yummmmm…..

Lavanya Selvaraj says: May 24, 2011 at 12:46 am
Delicious and drool worthy..tempting me a lot.

divya says: May 23, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Looks yummy and delicious
South Indian Recipes

SouthIndianHome says: May 23, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Those mini-lasagna's are so cute!
My hubby was asking me to make lasagna! Thanks for the elaborate photo tutorial.All the snaps are clean and clear!

Mahi says: May 23, 2011 at 10:46 pm
Loved those mini cup variation and the pictorial presentation.

Suma Gandlur says: May 23, 2011 at 9:21 pm
wow..wat a lovely lasanga..good clicks
Saranya
http://foodandtaste.blogspot.com/

Saranya says: May 23, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Lovely!!!! And what cuuuuuteeee cups!!!! I wanna have them now

CinnamonNChillies says: May 23, 2011 at 1:12 pm
This is too too good…!!!! Im a huge fan of the lasagna & seeing these awesome clicks makes me crave for it now
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner

Prathima Rao says: May 23, 2011 at 10:12 am
I love the idea of a mini lasagna

A Spoonful of YUMM ! says: May 23, 2011 at 9:46 am
Nice idea …looks so cute

Priti says: May 23, 2011 at 7:09 am
Wow,loved that idea of making lasagna cups,sure going to give it a try!

RAKS KITCHEN says: May 23, 2011 at 4:40 am
A very innovative and appetizing dish-Lasagana here.The cups look addictive.yum..

Mélange says: May 23, 2011 at 4:01 am
Brilliant idea n so perfectly executed! Great work Vardhini.
US Masala

aipi says: May 23, 2011 at 2:39 am
delicious looking lasagna fabulous presentation

Torviewtoronto says: May 23, 2011 at 2:05 am
The idea of making cups is very innovative. Kids will love them than the regular one.

Sensible Vegetarian says: May 23, 2011 at 12:26 am
cute cups…interesting and healthy dish !!

SravsCulinaryConcepts says: May 22, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Adding the cup is a cute idea!! nice n healthy….

Momof3 says: May 22, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Perfect and delicious

sushma says: May 22, 2011 at 9:36 pm
சூப்பர்ர் சூப்பர்ர்ர்..ரொம்ப நல்லா செய்திருக்கீங்க..

S.Menaga says: May 22, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Wat a wonderful and brilliant idea of making lasagna as fabulous cups, fabulous dish..

Priya says: May 22, 2011 at 4:37 pm
What a brilliant idea making lasagna cups…a nice dish to serve as an appetizer.

Quay Po Cooks says: May 22, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Lasagna cups is such an innovative idea. Loved all the pictures and it sure must have been a lot of work between making the dish and taking pics. Final product looks amazing.
Enjoy your Sunday Vardhini.

Pavani says: May 22, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Very very cute presentation dear!!

Sadhana Valentina says: May 22, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Outtasight! L-O-V-E the MINIS – What a splendid idea! totally trying that the next time I make the Two thumbs up

Now Serving says: May 22, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Wow! thats truly innovative and I am sure my kids will take a liking to this too..Bookmarked!!

Harini says: May 22, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Nice illustration.Looks yummy and inviting
South Indian Recipes

SouthIndianHome says: May 22, 2011 at 1:38 pm
A perfect starter and main course… Looks so yum and inviting… Adding spinach makes it healthy…

Vimitha Anand says: May 22, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Lasagna cups are irresistible, colorful and look delicious! That is an innovative recipe

Usha says: May 22, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Wow! This is so good! Makes a great snack!

Nandini says: May 22, 2011 at 12:32 pm
yummy

Aarthi says: May 22, 2011 at 11:23 am
Very innovative..Looks delicious.
http://www.easycookingforamateurs.com/

Madhura Manoj says: May 22, 2011 at 11:15 am
Everything about this post is super. I love your innovation, your zest for creating new food options and zeal for pictures and clear instructions!
Fabulous idea of lasagna cups. Surely a keeper recipe.Congrats on finishing the marathon too.All the posts and recipes were good.
Rajani.

Rajani says: May 22, 2011 at 9:53 am
lovely…recipe with good explanation…..looks yummy…

Divya.M says: May 22, 2011 at 8:46 am
wow u r fab……love the cups and the colourful layring….gr8 job dear

Biny Anoop says: May 22, 2011 at 8:07 am
Multi layered lasagna looks awesome. Not only kids but grown ups as well would love it. Excellent clicks.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Hamaree Rasoi says: May 22, 2011 at 7:39 am
wow….
looks delicious dear…
very well illustrated

Aruna Manikandan says: May 22, 2011 at 7:03 am
my..my…this is a lovely post…loved every pic..v well explained..n these cups look too too cute!!simply amazing!!!!!:)))n yes the collage is super duper!!

vaishali sabnani says: May 22, 2011 at 7:00 am
Wow, very innovative and looking at the pics have made me very very hungry dear.

Radhika says: May 22, 2011 at 6:30 am
this is a very nice recipe and the pics are very impressive

Raksha says: May 22, 2011 at 6:22 am

Lasagna cups and Mini Lasagna with Vegetables

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49 Responses to Lasagna cups and Mini Lasagna with Vegetables

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