First of all, I must give a shout out to Food Network Magazine for the idea. One of the features for their April issue was 20 slow cooker recipes. I definitely want to try out a few more but the first one I picked was the Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna. It sounded delicious, but really unhealthy. And honestly, a little bland too. It didn't even call for any garlic! How can you make lasagna without garlic? I'm pretty sure that is against the rules. Anyway...a drastic reduction in the amount of mozzarella cheese, a partial substitution of nonfat Greek yogurt for ricotta cheese and a large addition of spices later, this is what I came up with.
Slow Cooker Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
1 (15 oz) container part-skim ricotta cheese
12 oz nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced or diced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (1 tbsp dried)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (1 tbsp dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1-2 oz grated parmesan cheese, grated
1 (32oz) jar marinara sauce
6 lasagna noodles
In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, yogurt, spinach, mushrooms and seasonings. In a small bowl, combine mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Spread about a 1/2 cup marinara sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of a 4.5 quart slow cooker. Layer 2 lasagna noodles (broken into pieces to fit), 1/2 ricotta cheese mixture, 1/3 mozz. cheese mixture and 1/3 remaining sauce. Repeat layers once and top with remaining noodles, cheese and sauce.
