Lasagna | Crockpot Creations # 3

Hello, my fellow Steemians! One of my favorite things to do with my slow cooker is making unconventional dishes. Most people are surprised when they find out the lasagna they had was cooked in my crockpot. Slow cooking this lasagna brings an intense flavor throughout the dish. Lasagna, as we think of it, originated in Italy in the middle ages, more specifically Naples. The word lasagna though might have ancient origins coming from the Greek. Lasana is a Greek word for cooking pot. You learn something every day and today I learned that lasagna is named for the dish that it is cooked in. These early forms of lasagna did not have tomato due to the tomato not being introduced to Europe until some time after Columbus reached America in 1492. Good thing we have them because as we all know you cant have a proper lasagna without tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1 pound of Italian sausage (casings removed)
1 pound of ground beef
1 medium onion finely chopped
Garlic to taste
2 jars of Classico roasted garlic sauce
1 Egg
1 pound of sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons basil
16 oz Ricotta Cheese
16 oz mozzarella cheese
1 Cup of grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

In a skillet brown sausage and ground beef over medium heat.When meat is done drain excess liquid and add onions and garlic cook for 2 mins. Add 2 jars of sauce and the basil. Lower to low heat and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of mozzarella and parmesan cheese with the ricotta cheese and a beaten egg. Really mix it up well and add salt and pepper to taste. I love garlic so I add some to the cheese mix as well but this is up to your preference. Reserve the rest of the mozzarella cheese for the top of lasagna.

You usually would put a layer of noodles down first but in the crockpot, they will stick to the bottom. Add two spoonfuls of meat mixture into bottom of slow cooker and spread to cover the bottom. Place Noodles on top of meat mixture. You'll have to break them up to make them fit. The goal here is to have good coverage of noodles over the sauce. Add some cheese mix on top of noodles and spread. Then comes the meat again repeat these layers until you run out of ingredients. You want the top layer to be the meat mixture. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Don't try and speed this recipe up by setting on high as you will burn the lasagna and it will taste burnt throughout.

About 20 mins before it's done spread remaining mozzarella cheese, cover and let melt. Set crockpot to its warming setting and using a spatula cut into squares.If you find a layer of grease after melting the cheese take a couple slices of white bread and lay on top for a couple seconds. The bread will soak up any excess grease. I picked up some freshly baked bread from a local bakery to serve with the lasagna. Well, I hope you enjoy! Let me know, Bon Appetit!- @slowcookingchef