Pasta and Rice Dinners

Crock Pot Lasagna

Layered in the pot, no boiling, no baking dish. Use no-boil noodles and snap them to fit the oval.

What goes in

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef, 85 percent lean
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 24 oz marinara sauce
• 14 oz crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning · 1 tsp salt
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan · 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 3 cups mozzarella, grated

How to make it

1. Brown the beef with the onion in a hot pan, about 8 minutes, and drain the fat. Stir in the garlic, marinara, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt.
2. Mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan and parsley together in a bowl.
3. Line the pot with a sling of baking paper if you want to lift it out whole.
4. Build it: a ladle of meat sauce, a layer of snapped noodles, a third of the ricotta, a third of the mozzarella. Repeat twice, finishing with sauce and mozzarella.
5. Lid on. Low 4 hours or high 2 hours 30, until the noodles give to a knife.
6. Turn the pot off and let it sit 20 minutes with the lid off before you cut it, or it will slump onto the plate.