UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

Lazy Woman’s Lasagna

November 28, 2012

2020 UPDATE: I’m adding newer pictures of a recent one that we made. This dish is so convenient because there is no need to boil lasagna pasta or use instant lasagna! I love recipes that are simpler than the original and avoid single-use things like aluminim foil! Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Hi guys! I can’t believe it’s the holiday season again! I’ve been so utterly busy with making pretty accessories for my DiploShop, cooking, baking and going on my usual shopping rounds to take advantage of the end of season sales to get what I need and having my perpetual online garage sale. (I am a struggling minimalist – but obviously losing that battle so far hehe!)

Anyway I just wanna share with you that I finally made lasagna for the first time! And IMHO it was pretty yummy for a first try! It helps to have a good authentic recipe to begin with, even if I kinda winged it on the Bolognese sauce. Read on.

ANCHOR BAKING DISH

It all started when I saw a box of lasagna in the supermarket. I said “I really should learn how to make lasagna!” This was a couple of months ago. Then last weekend I saw this Anchor Baking Dish on sale at Ace Hardware Pasaraya. It is usually 399.000 but for the Anniversary weekend it was on promo for 299.000. It’s my first time to see something like this in Jakarta. Not a bad deal for Jakarta yeah?

You can also get this on Amazon here.

  • Oven/Microwave/Refrigerator safe baking dish
  • It has a Cover for the baking dish so it’s perfect for storing – no need to cling wrap!
  • It also has this awesome insulated bag – that keeps the dish hot (not just warm), makes it easy to bring to aparty without being scared of touching the hot dish!
  • There is also a Temp Assure insulation pack which can keep your dish hot or cold.

Then yesterday, while I was having my morning coffee I saw David Rocco’s Dolce Vita on TV and guess what he was making?!? Lazy (wo)Man’s Lasagna! No need to boil the lasagna pasta sheets? I’m in!

TD told me he was coming home for lunch and to be honest I thought the recipe was gonna be quicker and I didn’t have complete ingredients! So I had to do some shortcuts on the Bolognese recipe (I had only 50 mins to do it and the full recipe called for 1 hour of simmering the bolognese sauce alone). I didn’t bother doing the salsa di minuti either. I basically combined David Rocco’s recipe with the Bolognese recipe that I learned from the Italian Chef at Cooking Class in The Ritz’ Lobo.

This is my adaptation and combination of both. If I were you, I would still taste it along the way to be sure it comes out the way you like your lasagna.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE:

  •  50 grams carrots finely chopped
  • 1 small onion  finely chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic  finely chopped
  • dried chili pepper flakes to taste
  • 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin olive oil
  • 500g high quality lean ground beef
  • 4 basil leaves
  • 1 can of pelati 400g
  • Sieved tomato puree about the same amount as pelati
  • 2-4 tbsp tomato paste (depends on how sour you like it)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  1. Heat oil in the pan (medium)
  2. Throw in the carrots, onions, chili pepper and garlic and sautee for a few seconds
  3. Throw in the beef and sautee until golden brown
  4. Add salt and pepper
  5. I should have really added some wine and let reduced at step 4 but this has to be for next time.
  6. Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste + basil leaves + more salt and pepper to taste
  7. Simmer until it’s the desired consistency I wanted it to be a tiny bit watery than thick because I needed the sauce to cook the pasta and I know that a lot of it will be absorbed
  8. Remove the basil leaves

BECHAMEL SAUCE

  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 5 tablespoons flour
  • 4 1/2 cups milk
  1. In a saucepan, heat up the milk, and bring to a gentle simmer.
  2. In another saucepan, melt the butter and immediately add the flour. Lower the heat, and mix until the butter has absorbed all the flour and is the consistency of thick dough. Make sure the butter-flour mixture does not burn or brown. 
  3. Remove the butter-flour saucepan from the heat, and whisk in a couple of ladles of heated milk into the butter-flour mixture.
  4. Whisk until the flour has absorbed all of the milk.
  5. Put the saucepan back on the burner over medium heat, and whisk in the remainder of the milk. 
  6. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens and becomes a creamy velvety consistency.

LASAGNA

  • 1 pound dry lasagna pasta sheets
  • 6 cups Bolognese sauce, recipe follows
  • 3 cups Bechamel sauce, recipe follows
  • 1 pound freshly grated mozzarella
  • Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for sprinkling
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Cover the bottom of a deep baking dish with a layer of Bolognese sauce.
  3. Lay out the uncooked pasta sheets over the sauce until they cover the baking dish entirely.
  4. Cover the pasta with another generous layer of Bolognese sauce.
  5. The liquid from the sauce will cook the dried pasta so be sure to add enough sauce.
  6. Drizzle the bechamel sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella (or Grana Padano or Parmiggiano Reggiano) on top, until both are distributed evenly.
  7. Add another layer of dried pasta, laying the sheets in the opposite direction.
  8. Repeat the process of adding sauces, mozzarella, and pasta for another 2 to 3 layers or until two-thirds of the baking dish’s depth is filled.
  9. Top off the last layer of sauces and Quickmelt Cheese with a generous sprinkle of the Grana Padano cheese or whatever parmesan cheese you have.
  10. Place the pan in oven for approximately 40 minutes and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Cooking notes

  • I prefer using Grana Padano Parmesan Cheese instead of Parmigiano Reggiano. According to Lobo’s chef it is the best parmesan cheese because it’s aged longer than Parmigiano Reggiano. You can use whatever parmesan cheese you have.
  • The original recipe calls for mozzarella instead of Quickmelt. But you can use whatever you have! Why not?

I’m just so happy that it turned out pretty good because I ended up having to bring it to TD’s office instead and having everyone try it out. They were quite impressed and I hope they weren’t just being nice. Personally I really liked how it turned out and TD said the only thing missing was the garlic bread – LOL!

  • DiploBaby loves it!
  • He says he is like Garfield!

If I had time and complete ingredients I might wanna try the entire recipe next time! Btw I have to say that the bechamel sauce was fantastic and so easy to do!

The beauty with lasagna is it’s great for parties but it’s also great for keeping. It tastes even better after a day or 3 in the refrigerator.

READ: ORIGINAL DAVID ROCCO LAZY MAN’S LASAGNA RECIPE

10 Comments · Diplo Tummy

Comments

  1. emilie says

    November 29, 2012 at 10:44 AM

    hi TDW – this lasagna looks yummy! [was going to shoot you an email but realized I forgot to get it at the Turkuaz cooking class –really bad at that. wanted to let you know that I found quinoa at the Kemang Hero. it is, however, quite cher 🙁 ]

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      November 29, 2012 at 11:04 AM

      Hi Emilie! Thank you for the compliment! Glad you got in touch! My email is thediplomaticwife@gmail.com. I am sorta sad because the ibu who was going to email me said she sent me her calling card (the one who lives in Bandung) but I never received it. I think she might have made a typo on my email address. Miscommunication I think! What do you mean “cher?” =) I would still love to visit you sometime!

      Reply
  2. Joy says

    December 1, 2012 at 6:47 AM

    Looks delicious! I love the insulated carrying case with the handles…perfect way to take a heavy dish to a potluck event.

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      December 3, 2012 at 9:45 AM

      Thanks Joy! Yes I really am loving the carrying case. And it really keeps the lasagna hot! I brought it to TD’s office and I didn’t even need to reheat it. It stayed piping hot long after I cooked it. Thanks for dropping me a line Joy!

      Reply
  3. midnightvisitor says

    December 3, 2012 at 10:51 AM

    We certainly love lasagna in our house. Yours looks so yummy. Maybe we should do lasagna tonight? If we have the ingredients, that is. 😀

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      December 3, 2012 at 11:11 AM

      Thank you for the compliment! I enjoyed making it the first time and for sure I will be making more this Christmas. What’s your recipe?

      Reply
  4. midnightvisitor says

    December 4, 2012 at 8:41 AM

    We have a few recipes that we combine into our very own. BTW, had pasta last night. Missing a few ingredients for your recipe, but will try next time for sure…

    Happy holidays to you. 😀

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      December 4, 2012 at 2:16 PM

      True I like adjusting recipes to fit our personal taste and available ingredients as well. I am surprised with how simple and how yummy David Rocco’s Bechamel sauce is. I hope you get to try and like it too!

      Reply
  5. RDD says

    September 2, 2014 at 6:43 PM

    Just wanna say hola! to you and thank you for your interesting and helpful articles, especially the good finds/housekeeping tips and cooking tips! I’m a diplo wife too here in Seoul, and I just love reading your posts whenever my baby is asleep. Hehe

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:25 PM

      Hello there RDD! Thank you so much for your sweet comment. It warms my heart that someone finds my little blog helpful. I wish you luck with your new blog, new post and new role as a mom – so many new and exciting things! Keep in touch. Hugs!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.