After I took the plunge and finally tried the recipe last week I was blown away. This is the easiest and yet most flavorful and delicious lasagna I have tried. Even better than my momma’s! I love to make casseroles like this when I know my day is going to be busy. There’s nothing like having a delicious meal all ready to go when your husband and kids come home from work and school. I love feeding my family well.
Check out what our pals over at Betsy Life had to say about this recipe:
One word of caution, the zucchini and squash WILL turn into mush if they are overcooked when they go in the slow cooker, and if you cook it for too long. I recommend cutting slightly thicker slices or skipping the zucchini and squash all together in favor of heartier veggies like bell peppers or broccoli.
This is everything a classic lasagna looks like and tastes like without all the work. Totally worth it if you ask me!
Ingredients
9 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated and divided (about ¼ cup)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, divided
6 cups water
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 large yellow crookneck squash, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 large zucchini, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
12 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage links, casings removed
2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon Bertolli olive oil
3 (3.5-ounce) packages shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 cup unsalted chicken stock
½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 (25-ounce) jar lower-sodium marinara sauce
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded and divided (about 1 cup)
Instructions
Combine ricotta, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 tablespoon chives, pepper, and 1 garlic clove, grated, in a bowl; set aside.
Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large skillet; stir in red wine vinegar. Add squash and zucchini; cook 2 minutes. Drain.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; cook 7 minutes, stirring to crumble. Stir in onion; cook 8 minutes or until onion is tender.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 10 minutes or until mushroom liquid nearly evaporates. Mince 5 garlic cloves; stir into mushrooms. Stir in stock, basil, and marinara. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
To assemble lasagna, spoon 1 cup marinara mixture into the bottom of a 6-quart electric slow cooker. Top with 4 noodles, breaking noodles to fit cooker. Layer half of squash mixture, half of sausage mixture, and ¼ cup fontina cheese over noodles; top with 1 cup marinara mixture. Arrange 4 noodles over marinara mixture; top with ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with ¼ cup fontina; top with remaining half of sausage mixture and remaining half of squash mixture. Arrange remaining 4 noodles over squash mixture; top with remaining 1½ cups sauce and ¼ cup fontina. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
Preheat broiler.
Uncover slow cooker; sprinkle lasagna with remaining ¼ cup fontina and remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan.
Broil on middle rack of oven for 2 minutes or until cheese browns slightly. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon chives. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW.
Quick Tip: When reheating add some extra red sauce to prevent dry pasta
Thanks again to Betsy Life for this amazing recipe.
