By Doula Julie 

For a new, busy life with a new, busy baby I love slow cooker recipes.  Sleep deprived moms are forgetful!  Why not make a dish with low prep time—something you can throw in the pot and forget about!  You can serve slow cooked foods when you’re ready.  If that’s 30 minutes later than anticipated, they still taste great.  Little room for error, much room for flexibility.  

Ingredients:

1½ lb. bulk Italian sausage

2 (18 oz.) cans fire roasted tomato cooking sauce

3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 (15 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese

15 uncooked lasagna noodles

Step 1:

Cook sausage 6-8 minutes, until no longer pink.  Drain and stir in sauce.

Step 2:

Mix 2 c. mozzarella cheese and all of your ricotta.

Step 3:

Coat a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Spoon 1 c. of the sausage mixture into the slow cooker, top with 5 noodles broken into pieces.  Top with half the cheese mixture and 1 c. of the sausage mixture.  Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and 1 c. of the sausage mixture.  Top with remaining noodles and remaining sausage mixture, covering noodles completely.

Step 4:

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or until noodles are tender.  Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 c. of mozzarella, cover and let stand about 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Add veggies like spinach or eggplant for an extra nutritional punch.  Or substitute eggplant for sausage if you prefer a vegetarian option.