SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

I'm a believer! I admit I was skeptical when I first saw Christine's post on her blog Fantastic Family Favorites for Slow Cooker Lasagna. But I tried it and now I am a believer!

My concern was getting the lasagna out to serve it so it looked like the lasagna that you bake in the oven. Christine had a picture that looked like that regular baked lasagna, but I just wasn't sure.

Well, it was so easy to prepare and cook AND it came out easily and it looked like that regular baked lasagna.  A winner all around! Yay!

See how pretty it was in the Crock Pot...

The only problem with it is....it makes a lot. Just like that regular baked lasagna. I mean my husband and I didn't hardly make a dent in it. My solution is to cut it into individual servings and freeze them.

Another great thing about it besides being so easy is it was so easy to use half ground beef and half ground turkey for the meat. I cooked the ground beef (for me) and put it in a bowl. Then using the same skillet, I cooked the ground turkey (for my husband). Since you layer the ingredients into two main divisions, I put the ground beef in for one of the meat layers and then the ground turkey for the other layer.

Anyway, if you have any doubts about the success of making lasagna in a slow cooker for company, don't. It is so easy, prepare it and then forget about it and it is ready for dinner. I also goofed and added all of the cheeses together and just added a little extra for the top. It worked great but if you have a package of 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, just hold out a little to sprinkle on top to melt for looks.

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

1       lb ground beef or turkey (I used 1/2 lb of each)
1       jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (my jar was 26 ounces)
1       cup water
1       15 - oz container ricotta cheese
2      cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4   cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1       egg
2      tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
6      lasagna noodles, uncooked (I used whole wheat ones)

Brown meat, drain if necessary.

In a large bowl, combine the spaghetti sauce, and water. (I did this a little differently than Christine.)

Combine the cheeses, egg, and parsley together in a bowl. (I used the full amount of all of the cheese. Christine used 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.) I started by beating the egg and then adding the ricotta cheese til smooth.

Then I added the other cheeses. (You may have noticed from the pictures that I forgot the parsley...oops, my mistake.)





Spray the Crock pot with cooking spray (for easy cleanup). I used my 6 quart Crock pot. I started using my 3 quart one and it was too small.)

Place half of the meat in the pot. (I put the half lb of ground beef I had browned.)

Top with a layer of 3 of the lasagna noodles. (Break them up to fit.)

Spoon and spread half of the cheese mixture over the noodles.

Pour half of the spaghetti sauce over all.

Top with the other half of the meat. (This time I put the ground turkey in.)

Top with the other 3 noodles.

Then the rest of the cheese mixture.

Finally the last of the spaghetti sauce mix.

Cover and cook on LOW for 4 - 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese if you saved some or just sprinkle with additional cheese like I did.

Recover, and let stand at least 10 minutes or until cheese melts. (I let mine stand about 30 minutes because we weren't ready to eat yet.)

When ready to serve, cut through making sure you cut the noodles and spoon out. I have a big serving spoon that is fairly flat that I used and it worked perfectly.





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