Lasagna Cupcakes... Can't wait to share this one!

How cute is this?  And....it was delicious!  I would never post anything until I had a chance to taste it.    This was so much fun to make and came out amazing.  I really want you to try this one!

I found a recipe on line that was called Lasagna Cupcakes, but it used weird ingredients like won ton wrappers and sun dried tomatoes, so I decided to make it my own..... what a surprise!

I take the skin off six sweet Italian sausage and break them up as I cook them.  When they are done, I put them in a bowl and add some Barilla Olive Oil & Garlic sauce, pine nuts, and shredded Parmesan cheese.  Put to the side for later....

So, in my head, I am imagining a nest of fettuccine, maybe split into layers, with the ricotta, sauce, cheese....you know, a real lasagna, but only in a big muffin cup!  So I figure, what have I got to loose?  I boil some water and cook up six little clusters of fettuccine.  They cooked in 5 minutes... I put them on some wax paper to cool.

In yet another bowl, I put half a container of ricotta cheese.  I tear up a couple of handfuls of arugula, throw that in, and cut up about one handful of fresh basil leaves, and stir that in.  Last is a little salt and pepper and about a cup of Parmesan cheese.  Mix this all up and keep to the side as well.

So now you have your cooked pasta, your cheese, and your meat sauce.... so I'd say you are ready to make some cupcakes!

I get a jar of my favorite sauce, Barilla Olive Oil & Garlic, and after spraying each cup with Pam, I pour a tiny bit of sauce in.

Next I add part of each fettuccine "nest into each muffin cup.  I then put a little shredded cheese.

Now I add some meat sauce, followed by the ricotta mixture...   I repeat these layers once more, ending with the meat sauce on top of the ricotta.  I sprinkle the last bit of shredded cheese.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  When they are done, take them out and take a rubber spatula and run around the edges of each cup.  Because I sprayed them with Pam, they really don't stick.

So there you have it.  The variations on this are endless!  You could make a white sauce and use chopped shrimp and scallops instead of sausage, along with some different spices if you wanted to! I really hope you try to experiment.  

 

All I could think of when I took these out of the pan was what a great appetizer these would make at a restaurant!!!

Please don't ever hesitate to send me a comment if you don't understand something or if you ever have any questions....  

Have a great night!