Cheat's Lasagne – Good for when you don't have much time or energy

With not much energy and/or time, I decided to do a Cheat's Lasagne.  So if you are a purist about lasagne look away right now!

This is all done in one big pan.  Brown your mince (ground beef) with chopped onion, garlic and ginger.  Add chopped celery and chilli.  Squirt in some tomato paste.  Add a packet flavour mix (I used one for Cottage Pie) but anything including a gravy mix would work.

Add Worcestershire sauce – it makes almost any savoury dish tasty.  Then salt and pepper of course.

When the meat and onions are browned/translucent, add a can of chopped tomatoes.  I just put water in this time because I had run out of canned tomatoes which is most unusual.  Throw in a handful of pasta – I had penne on hand but any kind works (except for the big lasagne sheets).  Simmer all this for 20 minutes – adding more liquid if it starts to dry out as the pasta absorbs the liquid.  Throw in a handful of frozen peas for the last 5 minutes.  Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley.

We had leftovers and the next day I added some curry powder and soy sauce which made it taste really nice.