Crock Pot Lasagna

Yesterday was my weekly meal planning day. Before you roll your eyes and judge me for being one of "those" moms, let me clarify. Sunday is usually the day where I glance at the calendar for the coming week and plan the nights that will call for my trusty slow cooker (or cereal). Five minutes of list making and the week goes much more smoothly!

Crock Pot Lasagna is a family favorite and makes enough for two days of leftovers...SCORE!

I don't usually make lasagna unless I have a good amount of uninterrupted time...can you sense my sarcasm? Let's face it, it's a bit labor intensive.....browning, mixing, boiling, more mixing, straining, more mixing, layering....you get the big, exhausting idea!

Here's the solution for your lasagna craving, without all the fuss. The only difficult part is trying not to eat the whole thing by yourself!

Good luck with that! :-)

 

Crock-Pot Lasagna

• 1 lb ground beef (you can also use pork sausage to add a little more flavor)
• 1 pkg (8 oz) sliced mushrooms, rinsed 
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 zucchini (8 oz), trimmed and grated
• 24 oz marinara sauce (see Meatball recipe for marinara sauce recipe)
• 1 container (15 oz) cottage cheese
• 7 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 12 traditional lasagna noodles, uncooked 

Coat crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Place ground beef into a nonstick skillet and cook over medium to medium-high heat until cooked thoroughly.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, combine mushrooms, carrots, zucchini and 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Stir remaining sauce into the beef.

In a medium bowl, stir together cottage cheese, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and the basil.

(Well, this is not my greatest photographic work...and I forgot to add the basil.)

Begin layering: Break 3 noodles into thirds and spread on bottom of crock pot. Top with half the vegetable mixture, spreading level, and 3 more noodles, broken into thirds. 

Spread noodles with meat sauce and top with 3 more noodles, broken into thirds. Spread noodles with cheese mixture and remaining 3 noodles (in thirds). 

 

Repeat layers until mixtures are gone. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Isn't she lovely (you're singing it now, aren't you)?

Until we slow cook again...

(Little Man says "Mom, you're a good cook"! I need to give credit to the crock pot but I just don't have the heart...look at this face!)

(Original recipe from FamilyCircle.com)