Crockpot Lasagna

Living on a busy Air Force base and juggling three kids can be very time consuming!   So I definitely appreciate the slower Summer months!!! A lot of people think of crockpot cooking as only a Fall or Winter option but it is such a time saver in the warmer months also! It is so nice to come home from a day at the pool with the kids and have a yummy dinner ready in the crockpot. You don't have to worry about heating up your kitchen and most crockpot recipes are so fast to put together. 

 This recipe is a made up of your typical "lasagna" ingredients. You can easily alter this recipe to your family's personal preference. Simply substitute ground beef (or ground turkey) for the Italian Sausage. You can use small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Also the flavor of the lasagna is dependent on which spaghetti sauce that you use.... I seem to buy a different spaghetti sauce every time that I'm grocery shopping...it depends on my mood or which sauce is on sale that day.  Just be mindful of your crockpot though. My red crockpot tends to run super hot so this recipe only takes 2-3 hours on High....maybe 4-6 hours on Low.  

Crockpot Lasagna

1 pkg Italian Sausage, Mild

2 large jars Spaghetti sauce

8 oz. pkg Lasagna noodles

1 (15 oz.) container Ricotta cheese (or a larger size 

depending on how cheesy you like it!)

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese 

shredded Parmesan cheese

Spray inside of crockpot with Pam spray.  In a large skillet cook Italian sausage until no longer pink. Add to the skillet the two jars of spaghetti sauce and mix well. Then layer 1/4 of the meat sauce in the bottom of the crockpot. Then layer 1/3 of the noodles. I like to break the noodles up to fit & cover the entire surface.  Then layer 1/3 of the ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers two times! Then top with remaining meat sauce.

Here is a handy reference for each layer!!(because my mind needs a visual!!)

Layer 1:    1/4 meat sauce  1/3 noodles  1/3 ricotta cheese  1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Layer 2:   1/4 meat sauce  1/3 noodles 1/3 ricotta cheese 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Layer 3:   1/4 meat sauce 1/3 noodles  1/3 ricotta cheese 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Top with remaining 1/4 cup meat sauce

Cook on Low for 4-6 hours or on High for 2-3 hours.  Add the last 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese on the very top along with shredded Parmesan cheese the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Please let me know if you try this recipe or have an idea for another version!!  Enjoy!

Carissa