Baking Banquet: SLOW COOKER LAYERED SPAGHETTI & MEAT SAUCE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil (garlic olive oil if you have it)

1 pound lean hamburger

1 (12 oz.) package spaghetti pasta (I used veggie pasta)

2 (24 oz.) jars of Marinara Sauce (I use Bertolli 5 Cheese Marinara Sauce)

Onion Herb Mrs. Dash- to taste

2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Garlic powder - to taste

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese (divided), grated – I use low fat cheese

1 cup Parmesan Cheese (divided), grated

1 ½ cups Cheddar Cheese, grated – I use low fat cheese

1 cup croutons - about half a bag (coarsely chopped) – to cover top of cheese

Directions:

Line a slow cooker with a slow cooker liner.

Boil water, salt and olive oil in a large pan

Add the package pasta to the boiling water and cook until it is very firm (approximately 8 minutes)

Brown a pound of hamburger in a sautuesse pan. Remove any excess grease from browned hamburger. (I use some paper towels and blot it as seen in the picture below)

Add 2 jars of Marinara Sauce to the browned hamburger. Season with fresh minced garlic (optional), garlic powder, and Onion Herb Mrs. Dash.

Drain Pasta and add to the meat sauce. Pour half of the Pasta and Sauce into the slow cooker. Add ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup Mozzarella to the top of the Pasta and Sauce. Pour the remaining half of the pasta and sauce over the cheese. Now, add 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup cheddar cheese and put over the pasta and sauce. Cook on LOW for 3 ½ hours.

About 30 minutes before serving add the coarsely chopped croutons to the top of the casserole and turn the slow cooker on HIGH. Sprinkle ½ cup cheddar cheese over the croutons. Cover and serve after 30 minutes. Once the cheese has melted, only cover the casserole part way with the lid. Serve and graciously accept the rave reviews.