Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

Little One and I made our first solo airplane trip to see the grandparents this weekend.  So sorry for the hiatus - we were feverishly getting ready and making the DH's favorite foods to eat while we were gone.  {Score 1 point in the good wife column :) }  I finally have time to sit down and share some of those recipes with you.  The first one, is not necessarily a favorite of his, but it is a favorite of ours because it's quick and easy!  Great for a hurried week with lots to do!!

Crockpot Vegetarian Lasagna

adapted from this recipe: Spicy Turkey Crockpot Lasagna 

15 oz ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups Italian cheese blend, shredded

1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked, broken in half **

1 (26 oz) jar chunky garden combination pasta sauce

1/2 cup water

parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions

In a bowl, mix ricotta, Italian cheese blend and spinach.  Add oregano, salt and red pepper flakes.   In crock pot, layer half the noodles, overlap as necessary.  Cover with half the sauce and half the water.  Spread half the cheese blend on top.  Repeat layering.  Cook on low heat 3 to 4 1/2 hours depending on how much you like your noodles cooked.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese to serve.

Now, I have never made this recipe as the original spicy turkey version because every time I wanted to make it, it seemed I never had ground turkey around.  It's delicious as is and I have served it to guests (family, of course, but guests nonetheless :)).  It makes enough for dinner and lunch for two with one more meal left.  You might could stretch it to make more meals if you add a salad and some bread along side, but I tell ya, it was a busy day when I fixed it so that was all we had!

Gather all the ingredients.  Look how small that spinach is!  That's right, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze!  You don't want liquid left in it because it will make your dish too watery.  What I did that worked well this time was put the spinach in the fridge for a day or two before I was going to cook it.  It defrosted perfectly.  Then, I squeezed as much water out as I could while it was still in the package.  Next, I transferred it to a paper towel and squeezed out the rest of the water.  A fork works nicely to break up the spinach and mix it with the cheese mixture.  I use the Prego Heart Smart sauce.  It has less sodium and still lots of flavor.  I've used the garden combination once (what the recipe calls for) and I can't tell much difference - so I think any jar of spaghetti sauce will work.  ** For the noodles, I sometimes use 6, sometimes 12 - this time I used 9.  It was what I had left!  Whatever I use, I just half it and put those down in the crockpot.  Since my crockpot is round, I have to break my lasagna noodles into multiple pieces.  It's true, you can REALLY overlap them and it will turn out just fine.  You can see below what I do.

Then, add in the marinara and water.  Then put on half the cheese and spinach mixture.  It's hard to spread out, so I just put some dollops of the cheese mixture down and try to spread it out with a spoon the best I can.  I use my second layer of noodles to push the cheese layer down.  So, you just repeat these easy steps! And....

.... voila! Here it is all ready to go!

I cooked mine 3 hours.  The noodles were al dente.  I always test out the noodles with a knife and/or fork to see if they are done.

The verdict:

Again, another easy-as-pie recipe!  Literally, the hardest part is remembering to pick up the ricotta cheese at the grocery store because I don't buy it regularly.  Lasagna always seemed out of my reach because I could never imagine cooking those pesky noodles first.  I have been pleased every time I've made this recipe.  It's hearty and delicious.  I'm sure it'd be delicious too with the addition of some Italian sausage or the ground turkey.  

If you make it with the ground turkey here's the recipe changes:

Use 1 lb of ground turkey.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown turkey, breaking up clumps, until no longer pink.  Add oregano, salt and red pepper flakes. Remove from heat.  In a bowl you just mix the ricotta, Italian cheese, and spinach  - no spices.  When it comes time to add the mixture to the crockpot, it's noodles -- half the meat mixture -- half the sauce & half the water -- half the cheese -- REPEAT.

Hope you enjoy this ridiculously easy and tasty meal!