spinach, three cheese lasagna

this was my instagram photo. I always share everything with my instagram homies!

I love making a warm homemade meal, but sometimes a busy schedule, lack of time and warm weather get in the way. Each week I try to plan my meals, I like putting together an actual menu and making a grocery list. On days when I know I'll be pressed for time or I'm expecting some crazy warm weather(even though we don't really have "crazy" warm weather in the bay area!) I bust out my crock-pot. Slow cookers were all the rage in the 70's, this new concept allowed women to leave unattended cooking for hours. The way this worked and still works to this day, is through a moist-heat cooking method of simmering which requires low temperature for many hours. There are many slow cooker recipes out there, some books and magazine spreads dedicated to making slow cooked meals. Here is my latest crock-pot meal.

what you need:

5 cups of chopped spinach

1 cup of ricotta

3/4 cup grated parmesan

3 cups marinara (I make my own quick tomato sauce by stirring in 3 garlic cloves minced, with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt together in a small, cold saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook until the garlic starts to sizzle just a bit. Stir in a 14oz. can of crushed tomatoes, add fresh herbs of choice, such as rosemary, basil and thyme and bring to a simmer, cook the sauce down a bit, 10 minutes or so, then remove from heat.)

6 regular lasagna noodles(not no-boil)

1 1/2 cups of grated mozzarella(6 ounces)

what to do:

In a bowl, mix together the spinach, ricotta and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese. In a second bowl, mix together the marinara and 1/2 cup of water.

Spread 3/4 cup of the marinara mixture at the bottom of a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Top with 2 noodles(break them to fit), 3/4 cup of the remaining marinara, half the spinach mixture, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella; repeat. Top with the remaining noodles, marinara, mozzarella and parmesan. 

Cover and cook on low until the noodles are tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. 

Make a nice big salad and serve it along with a glass of wine! Enjoy!

p.s. I didn't take enough photos, as I didn't have time and was starving!