Crock Pot Lasagna

I came across this recipe for crock pot lasagna - and I said, "really? no way.. how would that work? how would it come out of the crock pot? In slices? " Well I tried it... it works and it was delicious! Was it easier? Sure, I guess. Kind of. Not really. It still involved layering and cooking so how much easier could it be? The sauce didn't need to simmer then cool on the stove - that was about the only difference. Regardless, I would suggest giving it a try. Why not?

The original recipe can be found at Kraft.com. I made some minor changes to recipe after reading some of the reviews, but some people cooked the recipe as is and said it turned out just fine!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup water
1container (15 oz.) Polly-O Original Ricotta Cheese
1pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1/4 cup Red Wine
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
Onion and Garlic

Directions:

1. Saute garlic and onion in large skillet.

2. Add meat, brown, drain.

3. Stir in spaghetti sauce, water, wine, and italian seasoning.

4. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

5. Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles (broken to fit) and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (broken to fit), cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

6. Cook on Low 4 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Last look....

I had read a lot of the reviews of the recipe and people had warned about burning the bottom, so I only cooked it for 4 hours and pulled it out of the cooker to cool. It didn't burn, but I could have likely cooked it 3.5 hours and been fine as well. It came out looking terrific!

I was busy, so I let it cool in the crock pot and I think this was the best thing to do because once it cooled it came out of the crock pot in perfect slices.