Cranial Dump

Crock pot, crockpot or slow cooker: whatever you call your counter top slow cooking small appliance, you just have to have one for busy days. This crock pot lasagna recipe is so good that you won’t want to wait to try it.

I frequently rely on crockpot recipes when I have unusually busy days (or weeks, for that  matter), and I use my crockpot all year around because in the summer it gives off less heat than the stove would.

Crockpot Lasagna is one of my family’s favorite slow cooker recipes. I do not recall where I found the original recipe, but I tweaked it over the years by adding some herbs and spices. This crockpot lasagna is low in fat and high in protein.

Crockpot Lasagna

• 1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
• 1 onion, med., chopped
• 26 ozs pasta sauce
• 12 ozs 1% fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 egg whites
• 12 ozs lasagna noodle
• 12 ozs mozzarella cheese, part skim milk, shredded
  Reserve 1/2 cup Mozzarella.

1. Brown meat and onion in skillet. Drain. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes (add about a 1/2 cup of water to thin if needed).
2. In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese (except reserved 1/2 cup) and egg. Mix thoroughly.
3. Spoon a layer of meat sauce onto the bottom of crock pot. Add *two* layers of uncooked lasagna noodles (break into small pieces so they fit) and then top with cheese mixture.
4. Repeat with sauce, noodles, and cheese mixture until all are used. Sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella on very top.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for approximately 3 hours.

HINT:

Slow cookers and crock pots cook hotter than they did years ago to keep food safer for consumption. Use a Use a Programmable Slow Cooker to avoid burning, which can happen with slow cookers that only have High and Low or 10 hour and 6 hour settings.