SLOW COOKER WHITE CHEESE CHICKEN LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS:

9 – 12 lasagna noodles or 6 – 8 square lasagna noodles (I use oven ready)	1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
½ cup butter, cubed	¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
½ onion, chopped	¼ teaspoon ground white pepper, to taste
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced	2 cups low fat ricotta cheese
½ cup all purpose flour	2 cups low fat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon salt	2 cups (4 chicken breasts) cooked chicken breast, cubed
2 cups Swanson low sodium chicken broth	4 tablespoons (or 1 bunch) chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ cups low fat milk	¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
4 - 5 cups low fat shredded mozzarella cheese, divided	Parsley for topping
2 cups grated parmesan, divided	(1 (10 oz. package) frozen spinach, optional)
¼ teaspoon Garlic Herb Mrs. Dash

Preparations Needed:  Cube butter, chop onion, peel garlic, mince garlic, wash, cut and chop basil and parsley.  Cube chicken, Cook and season chicken. 

Prep your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner. 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water.  (if using oven ready noodles, omit boiling them and going through this step.

To Make the Ricotta/Cottage Cheese Mixture:   In a medium mixing bowl, pour in the ricotta, and the cottage cheese.  Add 2 cups mozzarella and ½ cup Parmesan.  Mix well.  Add ¾ of the prepared parsley and mix well.

Cube and season your chicken with the Garlic Herb Mrs. Dash.  Fry in a sauteuse pan just until cooked through (so it is still tender and juicy).  Set aside.

To make the Cheese Sauce:  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently.  Stir in the flour and  salt, and simmer until bubbly.  Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.  Season with the basil, ground pepper and white pepper.  Remove from heat, and set aside.

To Assemble the Lasagna: 

Layers from BOTTOM to top:

1.       Cheese sauce

2.       Noodles

3.       Ricotta/Cottage Cheese Mixture

4.       Cubed chicken

5.       Noodles

6.       Cheese sauce

7.       Spinach (optional) or Cubed Chicken

8.       Mozzarella/Parmesan

9.       Noodles

10.   Cheese Sauce
11. Noodles

12. Parsley

13. Parmesan Cheese and mozzarella

Turn your slow cooker on low and cook for 4 – 6 hours.  About 30 minutes before serving, turn off slow cooker and remove lid part way to help the layers firm up.  Serve with your favorite veggie.  (I use steamed broccoli seasoned with sea salt)

Ingredients

Prepped items

Cheese Mixture

Cubed Chicken

Cheese Sauce

Layering

More layering

Ready to cook

Ready to Eat

LASAGNA (NO - EGG)

Ingredients:

1 Package Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles or part of a package of 8X8 Tomato and/or Spinach Lasagna Noodles

Cheese Layers:

1 15 oz. container Ricotta Cheese

1 Large Container Cottage Cheese

1 (3 Cup) Package Mozzarella Cheese

½ of an 8 oz. container of grated Parmesan Cheese

1 bunch parsley leaves (finely chopped)

Meat Sauce:

1 pound Hamburger Crumbled and drained

2 jars Prego 3 cheese Marinara Pasta Sauce

3 cloves minced garlic (put it through a garlic press)

¼ cup fresh chopped basil

Season with Garlic Powder, Italian Seasonings, onion herb mrs. dash etc.  Season to Taste

Fennel seed (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Wash and snip the leaves off the parsley and finely cut them (or use an electric food chopper).  Wash, trim and chop the basil. 

In a large bowl, mix the cheeses together, add the parsley and stir to mix in.

If using the “ Boil”, boil the LasagnaDrain and let cool on waxed paper or parchment paper.

Brown and Crumble the Hamburger.  Drain grease.  Add the marinara sauce, basil and seasoning.

To layer in a 13” X 9” (or two 8’X8”’s), place noodles, then meat sauce, then cheese, noodles, meat sauce, cheese, etc.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Ingredients

Parsley

Chopped Parsley

Cheese with Parsley added

Cheese Mixture All Mixed

Browned Hamburger

Meat Sauce

First Noodle Layer

First Meat Sauce Layer

First Cheese Layer

All Layered Up and Ready to Cook

Just Out of the oven

Just Out of the Oven

Ready To Eat

Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock-Pot Lasagna

This lasagna is easy to make and it layers remarkably well in the crockpot. The first time I made it I was surprised at how well it served up. This is a huge hit with the meat and cheese eaters in my family. The oven ready lasagna noodles made this a quick prep item. Surprisingly, the parsley preparation took longer than any of the other steps.

Ingredients

1 – 2 lbs. lean ground beef or ground turkey (depending on how meaty you want it)

29 oz can tomato sauce ( I used two 24 ounce jars or Prego 3 cheese sauce)

8 oz pkg. lasagna noodles, uncooked – oven ready (you can find these at Target – Market Pantry brand)

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I use the low fat 2% milkfat shredded mozzarella from Target)

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1 Large container ricotta (I use low fat)

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 cup parsley (finely minced)

Italian Seasoning (to taste) McCormick’s Perfect pinch…it has oregano, basil and other Italian herbs

1 pinch Fennel seed (optional)

Onion Herb Mrs. Dash (to taste)

Garlic Powder (to taste)

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the crock-pot with cooking spray or use a Reynold’s slow cooker plastic liner

2. Brown the ground beef

3. Stir the tomato sauce in with the ground beef. Add the seasonings to taste.

4. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the crock-pot

5. Arrange 1/3 of the uncooked noodles over the sauce (I break them up so they fit better)

6. Combine the cheeses in a bowl. Add the parsley. Spoon 1/3 of the cheeses over the noodles.

7. Repeat these layers twice

8. Top with remaining sauce

9. Cover and cook on low for 4hrs (You can put it on High for the first hour)

10. Let the lasagna stand in the crock-pot with the lid off for at least 10 minutes

* Variation *

1. Add 1/2 cup additional shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of lasagna 5 minutes before serving