Crock Pot Lasagna

And here, I thought lasagna was hard to do!  What was really surprising about this dish was that I was afraid it would turn out too runny what with cooking slowly covered in a crock pot.  But not only did it come out perfect, it even had a little crunchy cheese here and there.  NOM!  My husband lifted the cover 30 minutes after I had spooned the ingredients into the crock pot and was ready to renew his wedding vows right then and there.

Serves 8.  Prep time approx. 1 hour.  Cooks for 4-5 hours.

Ingredients

• 1lb minced beef
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 smashed garlic cloves
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1-1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix
• 12oz cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 16oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 12oz lasagna noodles

Method

1. Brown beef, onion and garlic in a frying pan
2. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasoning and mix
3. Cook long enough for this meat sauce to get warm
4. Spoon a layer of meat sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker
5. Top the meat sauce layer with two layers of lasagna noodles.  Break up the noodles to fit them around the inside
6. Top this noodle layer with the cheese.  I found that spreading 2-3 tablespoons of cottage cheese first helps 'anchor' down the noodles.  Then spread the mozzarella followed by Parmesan.
7. Repeat adding a layer of meat sauce, followed by a layer of noodles, followed by a layer of cheeses again and again until all of your ingredients are used up.  I was able to get 3 layers in.
8. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 hours.