Skillet Lasagna

Another "haven't tried it yet!" recipe:

28 oz. can diced tomatoes
water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. meatloaf mix (beef, pork and veal) or ground beef
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
freshly-ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Pour the tomatoes with their juices into a 1-quart liquid measuring cup. Add water until the mixture measures 1 quart.

2. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and salt and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

3. Scatter the pasta over the meat but do not stir. Pour the diced tomatoes with their juices and tomato sauce over the pasta. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes (mine needed considerably more time).

4. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons of the ricotta, cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

Variation: can substitute 1 lb. Italian sausage for the meatloaf mix. Add 1 chopped red bell pepper to the skillet with the onion in step 2.
Source: Cooking at Home with America's Test Kitchen, 2005.

My friend recommended using a smaller pasta as the lasagna noodles took a long time to cook. I'm going to try it with rotelle or mafalda.