Crockpot Lasagna

We really love pasta. lt's filling, delicious, and comforting. I serve it with a side of garlic bread and salad and my boys eat it up. They LOVE pasta! Because of Son #2's egg allergy, he has never eaten lasagna because restaurants add egg in the ricotta mixture. I found a recipe for crockpot lasagna and I was all over it. I knew I had to make lasagna for my allergy boy, and because it was a crockpot recipe, I knew I had to give it a try. It was tasty! 

In my opinion, the point of a crockpot meal is a one-pot, easy meal but this recipe requires you to cook the ground beef first. The extra step and dirty pan was well worth it. 

Crockpot Lasagna  

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef (I used packaged ground tofu from Costco)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 29 oz can tomato sauce (add 1 tsp each:  Italian seasonings, basil, oregano, garlic salt)
• 8 oz pkg. lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 2 c)
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (I used 15 oz Ricotta) Cottage cheese

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the crockpot with cooking spray.
2. Spray pan with oil, and when heated, saute garlic and onions.
3. When onions become translucent, add the ground beef (or ground tofu) and continue sauteeing until cooked through. Add seasonings to taste (I used garlic salt and pepper).
4. Add the tomato sauce and 1 tsp each Italian seasonings, basil, oregano, and garlic salt.
5. Spread ¼ of the meat sauce on the bottom of the crockpot.
6. Arrange ⅓ of the uncooked noodles over the sauce (break them up so they fit better).
7. Spread ⅓ of the ricotta over the noodles. Sprinkle handful of mozzarella over the ricotta.
8. Repeat these layers twice and top with remaining sauce.
9. Cover and cook on low for 4 hrs.
10. Let the lasagna stand in the crockpot with the lid off for 5-8 minutes before serving.

Optional:

* Use Italian sausage in place of ground beef or in addition to the ground beef.

* Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese to the cheese mixture.

* Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup additional shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of lasagna 5 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Creating Through LIFE