That NEW recipe~

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

POINTS® Value: 8
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 360 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

No need to cook the noodles first

or stay home while it bakes!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
6 item dry lasagna noodles, no-cook
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, strong-flavored like Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4 to 6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes. Yields 1/6th of dish per serving.

To boost your vegetable intake, add a can of zucchini in tomato sauce to the meat mixture. You can also add 2 cups of sliced shiitake mushrooms!

*MY NOTES:

I didn't have just oregano so I used the Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning. I'm glad I did as it was more flavorful. I also used my garlic press and used 3 cloves. I used half a teaspoon rather than a quarter of the hot pepper flakes, too. I set my cooker on HIGH for two hours then turned it down to not quite medium for another hour. It was wonderfully good! I will next time use a bit more of the spices since our tastes are pretty robust. This is now on my favorites list from Weight Watchers!!
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