Monday, January 2, 2012

Crockpot Lasagna and Pull-Apart Garlic Bread

My wonderful college roommate and her boyfriend came to visit me for New Years, so it gave me the chance to try out some new recipes! I was rather skeptical when I came across a recipe on Pinterest for crock pot lasagna. I wasn't sure how the noodles would cook.
The recipe itself sounded fine, but I am the kind of person who has a difficult time following instructions in the kitchen - even the first time I try something. The link above will take you to the original, but here's the one I made, and my sample audience loved it. (Sorry I didn't take a picture... but I figure most people know what lasagna looks like...)

1 pound ground beef (I used 90% lean)
1 pound ground pork
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 onion, diced (I usually puree onions as my hubs doesn't mind the flavor, but hates the texture)
32 oz pasta sauce
Lasagna noodles
1 1/2 c ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese, divided 2 and 1
2 eggs

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray or brush down with olive oil.
Brown the meat in a skillet with the garlic and onion. Drain off the grease. Add the pasta sauce to the meat mixture. I retained a little of the sauce to put on the very bottom of the crock pot.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine cheeses and eggs. Keep one cup of the mozzarella cheese to put on top.
Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the crock pot. Arrange a layer of noodles above that. My crock pot was not large enough, so I did need to break the noodles apart. Spread 1/3 of the cheese mix over the noodles. Repeat meat, noodles and cheese layers twice more, ending with the final 1/4 of the meat mixture.
Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top.
Cover and set on low for 8 hours or med/high for 4 hours.

This made enough for 4 people to eat dinner, and leftovers for a few more days.

With it, I prepared a Pull-Apart Garlic Bread.

2 cans refrigerated biscuits, cut into quarters
Half stick butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and pureed
1 t garlic salt
1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Melt butter, stir in garlic, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese. Dip each piece of biscuit into the butter mixture, and place in a pile in a greased bread pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until top layer is browned. To serve, flip pan upside down on a plate.

Enjoy!

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