Crockpot Lasagna

The crockpot is a wonderful tool to use in the kitchen.

Especially in the winter,

it's great to be able to make hearty stews and soups

with very little time and effort.

We traditionally eat lasagna for Christmas supper.

Since preparing the turkey in the slow cooker at Thanksgiving worked out so well,

I decided to make Big K's lasagna version in the crockpot.

The inspiration for this dish came from this website,

but as usual, we put our own twist on things.

Stephanie O'Dea's books and website

have tons of slow cooker recipes.

No more labor-intensive lasagna for me.

Just layer it in and move on with your day.

You don't even have to cook the noodles first!

Crockpot Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles

16 oz. container ricotta cheese

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

*16 oz. gravy (tomato sauce)

1 lb. ground chicken or turkey

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, shredded

8 oz. baby portabello mushrooms

1/2 t salt, or to taste

1 T Italian seasoning, or to taste

Brown meat with carrots and onion until onions are transluscent.

Meanwhile, sautee mushrooms

in 1 T olive oil until carmelized.

Add gravy and seasonings to meat mixture.

Place uncooked noodles on a layer of sauce.

Break up the noodles so that they fit the form

of your slow cooker.

Add a layer of riccotta, then mozzarella, then meat sauce.

Repeat layers one more time.

Add a little shredded mozarella to the top layer of sauce.

*Pour 1/4 C of water into sauce jar and shake.

Add to the top of your lasagna.

Cook on low 8 hours, on high 4 hours.

Enjoy!

Have leftover ricotta cheese?

Make these.