Lasagna

Good news, y'all!  Crock pot lasagna was wonderful!

The noodles cooked perfectly (hallelujah!) and because I used my handy crock pot liner, I didn't have to worry about the occasional burnt edge.

I made a massive quantity, so I'm very glad that it turned out well. I think the leftovers will last us until the end of the week!  Yikes... have I mentioned that I have yet to master the concept of 'cooking for two'?

Again, I made up my own recipe.  It's my thing :)

1 lb Spicy Italian turkey sausage
Approx. 30 oz. of pasta sauce... I used an organic jarred sauce, but if I were able to, I would make my own
Approx. 30 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
2 Cups thinly sliced part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 box lasagna noodles... I used this one, but you could use regular lasagna noodles or even gluten-free ones

Mix the sausage with the pasta sauce (if it is in casings, remove the casings before mixing together).
Cover the bottom of your crock pot with the sausage/sauce mixture (approx 1 Cup of sauce).
Place one layer of noodles, breaking them apart to form a complete layer.
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese over the noodles, sprinkle with 1/3 of the parmesan, then place 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese slices on top.
Repeat this process two more times, ending with a drizzle of sauce on top.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Note: I have a 6 quart slow cooker, so the recipe might vary for you based upon the size of your cooker.

Also, I was nervous about two things when assembling and cooking this recipe.

1) I was very cautious about the sausage cooking all the way through.  If you omit the sausage or pre-cook it (because you are a lucky soul that has the ability to use a skillet), you could probably decrease the cooking time by 30 minutes or more.

2) All recipes that I read called for water to be added, but I don't like a soup-y lasagna, so I omitted it from my process.  This was a very good call on my part. I had the PERFECT amount of liquid in the pot for everything to set up well. If I didn't have the sausage, though, I would probably add 1/3 Cup of red wine to the sauce before layering. This variation actually sounds better than sausage, to me :)

Enjoy, y'all!