Another Lasagna Idea!

A few weeks ago I posted on the super easy lasagna recipe I made in the slow cooker. That recipe was a little meaty for me, so I wanted to try a little variation. I added vegetables and cut back on the cheese a little too (this recipe yields more, so while the cheese looks about the same in the recipe, it is spread out over more servings). The results – perfect! Jason said it was just as good as the other one…and there were no strings attached on his answer, I promise! The icing on the cake for this recipe is that you do not have to get one pan dirty in the process…that’s right, no stove needed!

Ingredients

• ½ bag frozen spinach, thawed
• Roasted Red Peppers, 2 large halves, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2/3 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 8-10 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken to fit the crock pot
• 1 jar spaghetti
• 1 cup of water
• Garlic, per your preference
• ¾-1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Mix the spaghetti sauce, water, and garlic together in a bowl. Scoop 1 cup of sauce mixture into the 4 qt crock pot. Top with a layer of noodles. 
2. Top the noodles with sauce, vegetables, and cheese. Add more noodles and repeat with sauce, vegetables, and Parmesan cheese until it is as high as you’d like (reserve the rest of the mozzarella cheese for the top). Be sure to end with sauce and cheese on top. 
3. Cook on low 4-5 hours*.

*I (accidently) left it for about 6 hours and the top cheese was starting to brown. Be sure to take it out before that happens!

 

Apple Crisp

Again, life is crazy busy and I have no pictures to share with you. I can tell you that every person who has had this dish enjoyed it and I have made it 3 times in the past 3 weeks! Usually I leave my apple peels on for added nutrition, but I eat so well already, I figured why not just peel them for the full apple crisp effect. Apple crisp is one of the healthiest fall desserts if you make it right. Plus, the main ingredient is apple, so you are getting a fruit serving (or two) in with each slice!

Ingredients

• 7 or so medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced (they don’t all need to be perfect slices)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, divided
• Cinnamon, apple pie spice, and nutmeg to taste
• 1/2 cup regular oats
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2-2 tbsp butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9″ x 9″ square baking dish and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss apple slices, spices, and 2 tbsp brown sugar*. Pour into prepared dish.
3. In a small bowl, mix flour and oats together. Add remaining sugar and additional spices, if desired. Cut in butter until it resembles a coarse meal. To use as little butter as possible, start with 1 TBSP and add more if needed.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

I just found out that Jason likes his hot with ice cream but if there is no ice cream, he likes it cold…talk about high maintenance! 😉

*the apples are sweet already so you don’t really need sugar in the base. If you want, you can omit the sugar (I have done this and it still tastes great) and either remove it all together or add it to the topping for an extra sweet crunch.

 

Quick Whole Wheat Lasagna – is it possible??

I definitely doubted it. How could lasagna ever be quick; especially the kind made with whole wheat noodles? Normally a pan of lasagna takes me at least 45 minutes to prep. When you boil whole wheat noodles, I usually do 3 at a time and each pot takes 8 minutes or to get just soft enough. If there is meat in the lasagna, it needs to be browned. To maximize flavor, I usually saute the vegetables first as well. Needless to say it is a wonderful afternoon in the kitchen if I am in the mood to cook, but is a hassle when I’m crunched for time…until now.

I was reading my monthly Food and Family when I saw a recipe for slow cooker lasagna. I had heard of it before, but had never tried it. Life has been busier than ever lately, so I figured, why not? The results – amazing!! It tastes like something from a restaurant and took a total of 15 minutes to prep the night before! I don’t know if I will ever go back to the traditional method!

Slow Cooker Lasagna
From Kraft Food and Family

Ingredients

• 20 ounces ground turkey
• 1 small onion, diced
• 6-8 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken to fit the crock pot
• 1 jar spaghetti
• 1 cup of water
• Garlic, per your preference
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Any vegetables you like!

Directions

1. Brown the ground turkey with the diced onion. Remove from heat.
2. Add the spaghetti sauce, garlic, and one cup of water to the pan (I put the water into the spaghetti jar so that I could get all of the sauce out). Mix well. 
3. Scoop 1 cup of sauce mixture into the 4 qt crock pot. Top with a layer of noodles.
4. Top the noodles with sauce and cheese. Add more noodles and repeat until it is as high as you’d like. Be sure to end with sauce and cheese on top.
5. Refrigerate overnight*. Cook on low 4-6 hours.

*I refrigerated it, but it isn’t necessary. The original recipe calls for plain white noodles, so it is possible that if you don’t refrigerate it you will need to cook it for longer than you would if you had let it soak overnight.