It's National Slow Cooker Day!

No, it's really not. But it sounds like a wonderful way to introduce a slow cooker recipe. We have recently been struck by brilliance at our house. Why not fix a slow cooker meal on Wednesday night? There's a shortage of time on Wednesday because of church activities so it would make sense to try and simplify our dinner plans. My preference would be to eat out every Wednesday night (no dirty dishes!) but that is not always financially practical. Thus, the flash of brilliance. (I realize that a lot of other families have discovered the same thing. Perhaps we're not so much brilliant as we are slow. Hence the slow cooker. Tee hee. MJ will appreciate that pun.)

Anyhow, I digress. We tried this recipe last Wednesday and it was a winner. So without further ado, I give you:

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 package (8 ounces) no cook lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well. In the interest of saving time, because I have no time in the mornings, we prepared the meat mixture the night before and refrigerated it.

Spread a fourth of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5 qt. slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over the sauce (break the noodles if necessary.) Combine the cheeses; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender. I came home at lunch and put this together and it was ready to eat by six.

This recipe was brought to you by Taste of Home Slow Cooker Classics.
Enjoy!