Hello world!! My name is Mary. I first met Mita in an elevator during her first year of medical school. She kindly said to me, “Hey, you’re a PhD student in Anatomy, right?” … “Want to study together?” Long story short, we spent about 15 minutes studying and 4 hours talking about life. We’ve been great friends ever since and our meetings almost always involve yummy food!
I love cooking and love it even more if I can pop everything into my Rice Cooker/Slow Cooker/Steamer extraordinaire and come back to a perfectly made meal! Time is limited these days so my boyfriend, Ishan, and I are happy to make one really good meal that we can heat up for a few days. This Slow Cooker Lasagna gives you 8 lovely filling pieces of cheesy goodness, which is also full of veggies in every bite. Personally, I was happy to eat it for 4 days straight!
Noodle Layer Ricotta Layer Veggie Layer Cheesy Saucy Layer Start by preparing all of the layers: Now assemble! Cooking and Preparing to Eat: * Sliced carrots can be added to the cooking mushrooms, but I prefer to let them cook in the slow cooker to add a bit of texture to the lasagna.Slow Cooker Spinach, Carrot, and Mushroom Lasagna
16 oz Lasagna noodles
1 package frozen Spinach
12 oz Ricotta cheese
1 clove of Garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Olive Oil
20 oz Sliced White Mushrooms
1 clove of Garlic, minced
4 Carrots cut into slices
***Feel free to improvise and add other veggies!***
16 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
64 oz Pasta Sauce
To Serve
Top with basil and shredded parmesan
1. Wash mushrooms (and slice if they are not already sliced).
2. In a sauté pan, heat olive oil, then add mushrooms and 1 clove of garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until mushrooms are tender.
3. While mushrooms are cooking, wash and peel carrots and slice them diagonally. *
4. When mushrooms are done cooking, place them on a plate lined with paper towel to remove extra moisture.
5. Thaw spinach and squeeze out all of the liquid in a towel (best if it is a dark color), nut bag, or cheese cloth.
6. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
7. Start with a layer of pasta sauce covering the bottom of your slow cooker (or rice cooker).
8. Break lasagna noodles into pieces that will fit into your slow cooker and layer them over the sauce.
9. Spoon a third of the ricotta mixture onto the lasagna noodles and spread it into an even layer. **
10. Top ricotta with a third of the sautéed mushrooms and carrots.
11. Spoon pasta sauce over the veggies and ricotta. Then evenly cover the sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese (about a fourth of your bag).
12. Repeat layers twice more: noodles (broken to fit), ricotta mixture, sautéed mushrooms and carrots, pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese.
13. Finally add one more layer of noodles, pasta sauce, and mozzarella for a nice gooey top.
14. Cook on high for 3 hours (or low for 7 hours) in the slow cooker (or rice cooker).
15. Allow lasagna to cool and set by leaving it at room temperature for 1 hour or placing it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat!
16. Slice into 8 pieces and top with basil and parmesan if you’re so inclined!
** My rice cooker is tall and not wide so I went for more layers. If you have a large slow cooker, you may only do 2-3 layers so you can put more ricotta in each.
The Clumsy Cook 
This looks so yummy! Thanks Mary and Mita!
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