Crockpot Lasagna

I must say I was fairly curious about the concept of a crockpot lasagna.  It's not really something you need to slow cook for many hours?  Why use a crockpot?  I guess it would be a good idea if you didn't want to heat up the whole house with a stove.  I talked with Jill over brunch a while back about her issues with a similar recipe, she had problems with the noodles burning on the edges, so I kept a close eye on it and poked it every now and then to make sure it was neither overcooking nor undercooking.  The result was rather tasty.  I cooked mine for 3.5 hours, but the base noodles were a tad soft, so I suggest cutting it down to 3 hours.

1 lb. uncooked lean ground beef (4% fat)
1 small onion, diced

1 medium garlic clove, chopped

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

½ tsp. basil

Red pepper flakes to taste

1 cup part skim ricotta

1 ½ cup part skim mozzarella, shredded, divided

6 no boil lasagna noodles

½ cup shredded parmesan or romano cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add beef, onion, garlic. Brown meat mixture about 5-7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 5 minutes. In medium bowl, stir ricotta and 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon 1/3 beef mixture into 5 qt slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture. Top with half ricotta mixture and repeat layers. End with the beef mixture. Cover slow cooker on low for 3 hours. In small bowl, combine remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over mixture during last 10 minutes of cooking, allow to sit in crockpot with lid off and power off for 5 minutes to allow it to set up. Do not stir. Serves 6 at 6 points per serving.

Above left, after adding the cheese on top in the last 10 minues.  Above right, the finished product.  While I think I prefer my low carb lasagna recipe (because I do try and watch my carbs and I adore zucchini), this was a great cozy meal to enjoy with a green salad with low fat ranch dressing while curled up on the couch with the hubs while watching the Olympic closing ceremonies.