I am by no means a professional chef, but I do like to eat a nice meal. Since I lived in UWM’s Sandburg Hall last year, I couldn’t really eat as well as I wanted too. I craved comfort food more than anything so I looked up ‘Dorm friendly Comfort food’ online and of course I put my own little twist on it.

Being able to make a small, well cooked meal with few ingredients, a mug and a microwave has made me very proud of myself. Even though as a Sophomore I live somewhere with a kitchen I still enjoy my comforting Lasagna in a mug. 

 Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Category: Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 fresh lasagna sheet
  • 2 1/2 cups (75g) baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 3 large basil leaves, finely chopped (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/8 tsp granulated garlic
  • 6 TBS pasta sauce or tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cut the lasagna sheet in half, and cut each strip in half again. Place the pasta sheets into a bowl, and pour very hot water in it, until it covers all the pieces. I used boiled hot water from my electric kettle. Set the pasta pieces aside.
  2. Chop the spinach and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the top with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it for ventilation. Microwave for 1 minute. Take out the spinach and let it rest.
  3. Grate the mozzarella while you wait for the spinach to cool.
  4. Mix the spinach with the ricotta, pepper, granulated garlic, and salt. Set mixture aside.
  5. Pour 2 tablespoons of pasta sauce at the bottom of the mug. Top with a piece of softened pasta sheet. Add some spinach mixture, 2 tablespoons of mozzarella, and a pasta sheet. Continue building the lasagna, ending with a layer of pasta sheet at the top. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pasta.
  6. Microwave everything for 1 minute 30 seconds. Check to make sure that the mozzarella is melted. If it isn’t, continue microwaving at 15-second intervals until the cheese is fully melted.
  7. Serve immediately.

Notes:

  • Loosely adapted from Meal in A Mug.
  • This recipe also works with collard greens instead of spinach. It tastes great, but do note that the collards will have less moisture than spinach.
  • From “Healthy nibbles” website, via Buzzfeed. Dorm room friendly meal. 

See more recipes from the Post here!