I Heart My Crockpot

I could sit for days, ok weeks or months, surfing the net and reading the blogs of women much more crafty and Betty Crocker-y than myself. They make all they're children's clothing, throw lavish 1st birthday parties with handmade decorations and favors and chair coverings, bake like nobody's business and still seem to have time to fit in professional photography and writing their blog. I, am not these women.

Yes, I like to sew. Yes, I like to make stuff. Realistically, if I could get paid for just sitting around and crafting on my own time schedule, I'd be seriously blissed out. But baking and cooking are not my thing. I'm good at it; I just don't necessarily enjoy it. That's a problem when the cook in the family (my husband) has to take a work schedule that has him working until 8 or 9 in the evening. Personally, I'd be willing to snack while I wait for him to come home and cook but the children are not. So, about a year or so ago, I became the cook in the household after over 15 years. It hasn't always been pretty. I admit to cereal nights on a more than rare occasion.

Anyway, the man is back to working a mostly regular schedule but the strangest thing has happened... he has ceased with the nightly cooking and it seems to have fallen on my shoulders. I, admittedly, would be happy eating the same 5-8 meals that I really like. The rest of the family would not. So, I try to come up with new stuff but it's really rather difficult because, generally, if I think it sounds good, at least half of the house doesn't. AND, I have no desire to stand over a stove for 3 hours making the perfect meal. I'm not one of those people that loves the people around them by cooking and feeding them. That's why I craft (read, you should feel loved when I give you a crocheted cozy for your cell phone/laptop/tv remote).

Anyway, to the point... I have a crockpot. I love my crockpot for the simple reason that I can put food in it, turn it on low, and craft for 6 hours (I wish) and then have a completed dinner. It all feels like I'm working some voodoo magic and that makes me giggle inside. So, today, I'm trying something new. Lasagna in the crockpot. Who knew? Seems so simple, I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before. It takes a bit more prep work but, really, if this turns out, I'm going to be over the moon. So far, it looks pretty tasty, so I'm sharing the recipe with you here. I've left it pretty vague because you can customize it as you wish. Who am I to judge if you like onions in your lasagna anyway?

Crockpot Lasagna

1 - 67 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (I use Prego Traditional)
1.25 pounds of meat (optional; I use ground turkey)
1 - 32 oz tub of ricotta cheese (you can substitute cottage cheese for a lower fat version)
2 cups grated cheese (mozarella or an italian blend)
1 box lasagna noodles

Brown the meat and then add sauce; mix thoroughly
In crockpot, layer as follows:
meat sauce
uncooked lasagna noodles (you can break them up so they fit properly)
ricotta cheese
grated cheese

Repeat layers two more times, top with a layer of meat sauce
Put the lid on your crockpot and rn on low.
Now you just let it sit for approximately 6 hours (don't try to speed it up and go for 3 hours on high; this is a slow cook type of dish). While you wait, go knit a blanket, make jewelry out of bottle caps, weave a rug, decoupage your breadbox and braid your daughter's hair with an eight strand braiding method.
When all that's done, enjoy!

PS. the pic is of a perfect piece of lasagna that I found on the internet because mine is still cooking and I have a rug to weave.