Erika and Lori’s Lasagna

I’ve got a lot of things going on this week and spending a lot of time in the kitchen isn’t part of my plan. I wanted to make something that would allow plenty of left overs and would be more entertaining than a turkey sandwich. In regards to Tuesday nights’ meal, my thought process went like this...

Little attention needed = Crock pot
Yummy leftovers = Lasagna

Thankfully my girlfriends, Erika and Lori, have a crock pot lasagna recipe. It’s from Cooking Light and a wonderful vegetarian option.... but I like meat, so I made a couple changes to the recipe. My additions are marked with an asterisk, so if you want to make it the original way, feel free!!

Seriously, my crock pot was filled to the brim!!



Erika and Lori’s Lasagna

4 cups torn spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup commercial pesto
* 1 package of ground turkey
* 1 jar of Giardiniera, drained
* 2 zucchinis, diced
* 1 onion, diced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded provolone cheese
1 (15-ounce) carton fat-free ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (25.5-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
Cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles (12 noodles)

Arrange the spinach in a vegetable steamer; steam, covered, 3 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop. Combine spinach, mushrooms, and pesto in a medium bowl, stirring to combine; set aside.

In a heated skillet, cook ground turkey and giardiniera. Set aside when the meat is no longer pink.

Combine mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, and beaten egg in a medium bowl, stirring well to combine. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan, and set aside.

Combine the pasta sauce and the tomato sauce in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup pasta sauce mixture in the bottom of a 6-quart oval electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce mixture; top with 1 cup cheese mixture, 1 cup spinach mixture, meat mixture, sprinkle zucchini & onions. Repeat the layers. Arrange 3 noodles over zucchini &onions; top with remaining 1 cup cheese mixture and 1 cup pasta sauce mixture. Place remaining 3 noodles over sauce mixture; spread remaining sauce mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Cover with lid; cook on LOW 5 hours or until done.