sonorous stinginess: Crock Pot Lasagna

Let?s talk about how it?s somehow already mid-January. What?

It feels so weird to think that five months from today I?ll be an old married woman. I just realized as I typed that sentence that my birthday is also five months from today. Old married woman, indeed! Before we know it, I?ll be driving kiddos to soccer practice, making casseroles for neighbors and going to bed at 9pm on a Friday.

Okay, I?ll stop now. Sorry! I already make casseroles for neighbors and go to bed at 9pm on Friday {not every Friday, okay?} so at least I?ll have those two things figured out. Sometimes this blog turns into my own little stream of consciousness. I don?t know why lasagna in the crock pot made me think of all those things, but it did. Also on my mind right now in case you were wondering: how delicious that In n? Out burger I ate yesterday for lunch was, how well my new purple shampoo is working and how I need to figure out a menu for both tonight and tomorrow night because we have friends coming over for dinner both nights this weekend.

Let?s now talk about Crock Pot Lasagna. I?m ready and it?s totally a thing! Did you know that? I didn?t, but I?m doing a bit of recipe development work for Crock Pot and decided to give it a whirl {the pretty blue Crock you see in the photo above is part of their new ?create-a-crock? line}. You guys are never going to believe how amazing this is?.or how simple. Simplicity is what I love most about using my Crock Pot. I love that I?m practically guaranteed a delicious dinner if I just throw everything in in the morning, turn it on low and just go about my day. So far, it?s never failed me and this new recipe is the icing on the cake {or, ummm, the cheese on the lasagna}.

To make this lasagna, you just assemble everything right in your slow cooker the same exact way you would assemble it if you were using a regular square baking dish.

I spread a little marinara sauce at the bottom of the pot?.then covered that with two ?no-boil? noodles {these are the best!}. On the sides, I placed some bits of broken noodle because I?m a neurotic perfectionist.

Then, I spread a mixture of spinach and cheese on top followed by a few slices of some spicy smoked sausage I had on hand. I continued layering almost all the way to the top then scattered the remaining mozzerella cheese on top.

Finally, it was time to place the lid on the pot, turn the Crock Pot to LOW and let her slow cook for about five hours. My kitchen smelled like heaven and yours will, too!

Here?s the beauty I discovered at the end of the afternoon. Gorgeous, puffy, cheesy spinach lasagna?just the way I like it.

And it wasn?t just pretty ? it tasted yummy, too! Adam and I ate it for dinner last night and loved it.

Happy Friday, folks! You guys are the cheese on my lasagna noodles.

Crock Pot Spinach and Sausage Lasagna

serves 4

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 16-oz bag frozen chopped spinach

6 oz spicy sausage, sliced (optional but delicious)

1 15-oz container ricotta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 large jar (26 oz) marinara sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

10 ?no-boil? lasagna noodles

Directions:

Place frozen chopped spinach in a large microwave safe container with a lid. Microwave on high for three minutes. Remove lid and stir then cook again for another two minutes, or until heated through. Remove spinach from the bowl and wrap tightly in a clean dish cloth or paper towels to squeeze out all the liquid. Do not forget to do this step ? it?s important to get out as much liquid as you can from the spinach so you don?t end up with watery lasagna!

Place drained cooked spinach in a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.

Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of your Crock Pot. Lay two lasagna noodles flat side-by-side at the bottom of the pot. If you like, you can break apart another noodle to fit in the sides.

Spread about a fourth of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. It?s easiest to use your hands here! Then, scatter about four slices of sausage on top of the cheese. Drizzle about 1/4 cup marinara sauce on top and then layer two more noodles. Repeat until you have five layers. Spread remaining sauce on top of the final layer and scatter the rest of the mozzerella cheese on top.

Place lid on the Crock Pot and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours. Lasagna will puff up when done. When ready to serve, cut squares of lasagna out of the Crock Pot to serve.

Time:

active time ? 15 minutes

total time ? 5 hours