Mile-high Crock Pot Lasagna With Zucchini Or Spinach

Total Time: 5 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced thinly into 1/4-inch pieces (or about 1-2 cups chopped spinach)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon basil leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon anise seed, crushed (optional)
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (optional)
• 1 (26 -28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 11 -12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 1 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Recipe

• 1 brown the beef, onions, zucchini, and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, stirring to break up meat.
• 2 stir in the oregano, basil, pepper, crushed anise seeds, sliced mushrooms, parsley, spaghetti sauce, and wine.
• 3 in a separate bowl, stir together the beaten egg and the ricotta cheese, beating well until mixture is smooth. stir in the grated parmesan cheese, combine well.
• 4 grease the bottom and sides of the crock pot (i use cooking spray or butter).
• 5 layer about 1/4 of the meat sauce mixture in the bottom of the crock pot. put a layer of noodles on top of that (break noodles to fit, overlapping is fine). put about 1/3 of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella. repeat with sauce, noodles and cheese for another two layers. top with meat sauce and a little parmesan and shredded mozzarella on top.
• 6 cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours (4 hours on high plus 30 minutes on low, in my 1990s 'older' model 4-quart crock pot), or until noodles are tender.