Lasagna int he Crock Pot
I made lasagna for the first time, ever today, and I made it in the crock pot before work for my family to enjoy in my absence. I have to say, it is great in almost every way. The flavors worked perfectly, the noodles got soft after just a brief soak, and you can slice it nicely- not soupy or slippy-slidey! I'm so tickled because using the crock pot is very hit-or-miss with mostly misses and this was a huge hit! Plus as I mentioned, I've never made lasagna to begin with. My family loved it!
The idea isn't all me... I saw Alton Brown do it on GE but I didn't like his fillings so I used my own, alternate layers of ground lamb&beef in tomato sauce, and frozen chopped spinach mixed with a package of cream cheese (I had no ricotta and can't stand the stuff, so I had to improvise!)
I know lasagna comes in a lot of flavors besides the meaty marinara and spinach variety I made today. What's your favorite? If you tell me, I promise to adapt it for the slow cooker and report back with my results...
I just got home from work and reheated my portion of tonight's dinner and it is goooood.
Oh, and I'd like to go ahead and ban the word "authentic" from this thread, if I can.
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I've been meaning to try this in the crockpot as well. I saw something similar in the Cooks Illustrated Slow Cooking book and they instruct on using an aluminum foil ring around the inside of the crockpot (don't know what thats for though). Did you use your own sauce or a jarred/canned sauce? Did you pre-cook the noodles or use the oven ready type?
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