Crockpot Lasagna

Another recipe I found on Pinterest and another one that's SO easy to make!  

I don't know about you, but I've never prepared a real lasagna from scratch.  Just thinking about it makes me really nervous!  I know folks that do!  My great aunts, to be specific, and they are fabulous cooks!  However, I've never had 2-4 hours to prepare a meal.  Like, never!  When I found this recipe, I just knew we could now have lasagna in our house on a regular basis and without too much time and energy from me!  Kevin loves pasta, so he's a happy man!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

29 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz pkg. lasagna noodles, uncooked

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

Photo contains some extra ingredients we used because we're so adventurous!

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef

2. Stir the tomato sauce in with the ground beef

This is also where we added the onions and garlic (optional variation)

3. Combine the cheeses in a bowl. (I left out about a half cup of the mozzarella cheese so I could melt in on top right before serving)

4. Spray the inside of the crock-pot with cooking spray 

5. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the crock-pot

6. Arrange 1/3 of the uncooked noodles over the sauce (I break them in half so they fit better...it's okay if they overlap!  They'll all get moist while it's cooking!) 

7. Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the noodles.

8. Repeat these layers twice
 9. Top with remaining sauce

10. Cover and cook on low for 4hrs (**I've started the crock-pot on high in the morning before I leave for work and then put it on warm when I leave and it's perfect when I get home!)
11. Right before you're ready to eat, top with the remaining half a cup of mozzarella and heat until melted.

12. Let the lasagna stand in the crock-pot with the lid off for at least 10 minutes

In the original recipe post, folks suggested some variations to the recipe.  Here they are:

1. Add chopped onion and garlic to the ground beef in step 1

2. Use Italian sausage in place of ground beef or with ground beef

3. Add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese to the cheese mixture. Or replace cottage cheese with Ricotta. (Cottage cheese is healthier for you, so in the end, I decided against it!  I'm not a fan of cottage cheese AT ALL, but in this recipe, I didn't notice it!  It tasted like true lasagna!)

Seriously, it's amazing!  I think the first time I made it, I filled up on chex mix (which I'm addicted to) right before dinner and only had a small sliver.  When I went back for leftovers two days later, it was completely gone, so Kevin must have enjoyed some lunches out of the leftovers.  This time, I really got to enjoy it...and we changed the recipe around a little bit.  I added onions in once the ground beef was browned in step 1 and then tossed in some chopped garlic before stirring in the tomato sauce.  This really added some good flavor and reminded me of homemade lasagna.  Kevin also begged for ricotta, so we used half ricotta and half cottage cheese along with the mozzarella!  It turned out great!

**Again, much discussion about if this is safe, etc.  However, since the ground beef is completely cooked before you put it in the crock-pot, I can't imagine there would be much chance for bacteria to grow.  Save it for a Saturday or Sunday meal and cook on high from the start if you're that concerned!