I usually like to spend time in the kitchen preparing that perfect meal. The times I know I will be out on errands and appointments, it is nice to know that dinner is basically taking care of itself! In fact, you can prepare the tomato/meat portion the night before, refrigerate it, and then just assemble your lasagna in the morning. There is something nice about coming home to the aroma of Italian food!
Cook it in a Crock Pot!
Ingredients
½ pound ground beef*
½ pound ground pork
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ chili flakes
Approximately 8 ounces of no-cook lasagna noodles*
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup Ricotta or cottage cheese (or use ½ cup of each)
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Directions
In a skillet, brown the beef and pork. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion and garlic are tender. Drain off any excess oil. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and spices; mix well.
Spread a fourth of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5-qt. slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles if necessary). Mix the cheeses together; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce.
Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender. Make 5-6 servings. Remember to have a crisp salad and garlic bread at hand. Since dinner is taking care of itself, you now have the time.
*I often just use the regular lasagna noodles and they cook tender without a problem. You could also use the regular one and par boil them until they are half way cooked and use them.
*You can go all beef or all pork for the meat portion of the dish. I’ve even made great lasagna using diced and cooked (as directed above) chicken breast. Ground turkey would be great, too. It’s a very amiable recipe!
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