Made this tonight and it was tasty. This is a simple one pot meal, just right for Cooking Merit Badge. Scouts will learn to dice an onion (not required for the merit badge, but an essential skill), sauté the onion (also not required and also essential), and brown meat (which is always tasty).

They should also learn a bit of “mise en place”, getting everything ready and in its place before starting. The recipe doesn’t make that clear, but a mentor (Merit Badge Counselor) should walk them through prepping the tomatoes and onion first, then getting the other ingredients ready while those are cooking.

Recipe for Skillet Lasagna.

The first time you stir this, you will probably wonder about using lasagna noodles. Next time, I might use a different pasta shape. Maybe rotini (corkscrew), penne (tubes), or farfalle (bowtie). Or I might go with lasagna again. That did work, despite the concern while stirring.

A bit more ricotta, basil, parmesan, or whatever is fine with me. I’m always good with more flavor or richness.

The recipe calls for a “meatloaf mix” of ground beef and pork. I bet that would be tasty, but we used 85/15 ground beef. 80/20 might be better, but you can always add a bit more olive oil.

Dicing an onion is one of the most basic skills in the kitchen. Doing it wrong is a good way to slice your finger. So watch this knife skill video from Kenji López-Alt and learn to do it quickly and safely.

Sautéing onions is not hard, but requires attention. A bit of oil, cook over medium high heat, stir occasionally (avoid burning), until the onions are translucent and tasty. Add more oil if the skillet is dry.

Cooking Merit Badge requires understanding frying, but sautéing isn’t quite the same thing. Frying is done at medium to medium high heat with plenty of oil and large pieces of food. The food is not moved around much so that it can cook through and brown. Like fried chicken. Sautéing is at higher heat, medium high to high, uses less oil, food is usually in smaller pieces, and stirred more often.

This article on Sautéing vs. Pan Frying is short and clear.

The recipe calls for minced fresh garlic, which is kind of a bother. We keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge. It doesn’t taste quite as good, but it sure is easier.

Bon appétit!