Recipe Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Lasagna & Spinach Salad

This is a quick and easy dish when you want to eat healthy, but you don't have much time! Taken from the Sparkpeople Cookbook

Makes 8 Servings:

1 heaping cup per serving

25 Minutes to Prepare; 4 hours to cook

1 pound ground beef, 96% lean

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dried thyme

One 24-ounce jar low-sodium marinara sauce

One 3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, diced (2 cups) (I didn't add this, but you can if you want)

15 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded Italian five-cheese blend

1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg white)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

6 no-boil lasagna noodles 

1. In a skillet over moderate heat, brown the ground beef and drain any excess fat. Stir in red pepper flakes, thyme, tomato sauce, eggplant, and 1 1/4 cup water.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded cheese blend, egg substitute, and parsley.

3. Coat the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place enough meat sauce in the slow cooker to cover the bottom. Top with 2 or 3 lasagna noodles (break them up as needed) to cover the meat sauce. Repeat layer.

4. Top the second layer with all of the cheese mixture and finish with a top layer of the remaining meat sauce.

5. Cover and set the slow cooker on low. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

**Tip- I make my sauce ahead of time in bulk and put it in the freezer. Then, when I'm ready I just defrost it and put it together. Takes me a max of 10 minutes to make this and put it in the crock pot! 

per serving: 271 calories, 10.2 g total fat, 56.6 mg cholesterol, 283.8 mg sodium 18 g total carbs, 1.6 g dietary fiber, 24.8 g protein

Enjoy!