Crockpot Lasagna

I love a good a slow cooker recipe. It is so nice to be able to throw everything in a pot, let it cook for a few hours, and then enjoy supper! I've always made a lot of soups and desserts in the crockpot, but I was looking to make something different. A few years ago, a friend of mine said that she cooked spaghetti in her slow cooker, so I got the idea to make lasagna in the crockpot. It turned out very well and since then, I think I've mastered it and made it about as healthy (and economical) as lasagna can get (minus whole-wheat noodles- can't find lasagna ones ANYWHERE!).

What you'll need:

1.25 lbs. lean (Italian, if you can find it) ground turkey

1 box of oven-ready lasagna noodles

1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese made with 2%

1 15 oz. container of part-skim ricotta cheese

1 c. of shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper

This recipe will serve 5-6 people.

1. Begin by browning meat over medium-high heat in a pan on the stove. While that is cooking, in a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1 1/4 c. mozzarella, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, 2 tsp. of Italian seasoning, and a dash of salt and pepper.

2. Once turkey is done cooking, drain away extra liquid. Add in the jar of tomato sauce, reserving about 1/3 c. for the top of the lasagna. Stir together.

3. Get your crockpot and bowl of cheese near the stove for easy assembly. Start by spraying your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Add in a tiny amount of the meat and sauce mixture to the bottom, just enough to keep the noodles from burning.

4. Begin adding the layers. Start with the noodles. Break the lasagna noodles so that they fit as well as possible in the bottom. The next layer is the meat. Add meat and spread out. Then follow with the ricotta mixture and a sprinkle of the Italian seasoning. You want to keep your layers relatively thin so that the lasagna doesn't fall apart when you put it on a plate.

5. After the cheese, start again with the noodles. Continue with this until you've created 3 full layers. The 3 full layers should hold all of your meat and sauce mixture and all of the ricotta mixture.

6. Top the last layer with one last layer of noodles. Then add the reserved tomato sauce, the rest of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and one last sprinkle of italian seasoning (in that order) to make a cheesy topping.

7. Cook on high for 1 1/2-2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours.

Cooking in the crockpot always helps me de-stress and relax. I stood in the kitchen for only  about 15 minutes making this meal. I hope that you enjoy a night of (almost) no cooking and this lasagna!