Crockpot Lasagna

Any lasagna recipe can be made in the crockpot. I'm serious. And you don't even have to cook the noodles first. (Awesome!)

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 cans (15 ounces each) Italian-style tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1 container (15 ounces) small curd cottage cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 uncooked lasagna noodles


Cook ground beef and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.

Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the cottage cheese and Parmesan. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)

Spoon one-fourth of the sausage mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with half of the cheese mixture and one-fourth of the meat sauce mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and one-fourth of the meat sauce mixture. Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining meat sauce mixture.

Cover and cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.
Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into pieces.

Crock Pot Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna

Serves 6| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 4hr 15m

Ingredients
2 10-ounce packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
1 cup ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (3 ounces)
3 cups marinara sauce
6 regular lasagna noodles (not no-boil)
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (6 ounces)

Directions
In a bowl, mix together the spinach, ricotta, and ½ cup of the Parmesan. In a second bowl, mix together the marinara sauce and ½ cup water.
Spread ¾ cup of the marinara mixture in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with 2 noodles (breaking to fit), ¾ cup of the remaining marinara mixture, half the spinach mixture, and ½ cup of the mozzarella; repeat. Top with the remaining noodles, marinara mixture, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Cover and cook on low until the noodles are tender, 3 ½ to 4 hours.

From Real Simple

Make Ahead Cheeseburger Lasagna

1 1/2 lb lean (At least 80%) ground beef
3 tbsp instant minced onion
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 egg
1 container (15oz) small curd cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 cup dill pickle slices

Spray 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray.  In 12-inch non stick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meat is thoroughly cooked; drain.  Stir in tomato sauce, water, ketchup and mustard. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat egg with fork or wire whisk.  Stir in cottage cheese and 2 cups of shredded cheese.

Spread 1 cup beef mixture over bottom of baking dish. Cover with 4 uncooked lasagna noodles.  Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles, top with 1 1/2 cups beef mixture. Repeat layers once with 4 noodles, remaining cottage cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 cups beef mix. Top with remaining noodles, remaining beef and remaining shredded cheese. Cover with foil. Refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Bake lasagna, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 to 35 minutes longer, or until bubbly.  Remove from oven. Cover with foil; let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Just before serving, top with lettuce, tomato, pickles and additional ketchup if desired.

Mexican Lasagna

1lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can Rotel
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed
8 8in flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Preheat large skillet over medium high heat. Brown ground beef, 5 minutes, drain.  Add taco seasoning, Rotel, corn and black beans. Heat mixture through, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Coat a shallow baking dish in non-stick spray. Cut tortillas in half or quarters to make them easier to layer.  Build lasagna in layers of meat mixture, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.  Serve alone or with toppings of sour cream or guacamole.