Slow-Cooker Lasagna

Honestly, this lasagna needs no introduction, really- as it is my FAVORITE lasagna I have ever had. Honestly! AND, it's made in the slow cooker! It's a super easy recipe that I found on the internet but substituted a few things here and there and made it even EASIER than it was originally! You don't even have to bake the noodles, the tomato sauce will soften them over time in the slow cooker. I used a large slow cooker, so if yours is smaller you might want to half the recipe, or make more layers and adjust the time accordingly (adding an hour to the cook time). There's no picture, because, well, all lasagna looks the same- this one just happens to taste the best!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

-1 pound lean ground beef
-Garlic powder (or garlic salt)
-1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
-1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
-2-3 teaspoons dried oregano
-1 (12 ounce) package lasagna noodles
-12 ounces low fat cottage cheese
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large skillet over medium heat cook the ground beef until brown. Add garlic powder to your personal taste while beef is still warm. Add beef, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and oregano to a medium sized bowl and stir until well incorporated.
2. In another bowl mix together the cottage cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese.
3. Spoon a layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker. Add a double layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles, making sure that the tomato sauce is covering the underside of the noodles. Break to fit noodles into slow cooker. Top noodles with a portion of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, and cheese until all the ingredients are used. (We did three layer in our big slow cooker.) Make sure that the meat/sauce is thick but watery enough so that the noodles will soften in the slow cooker.
4. Cover, and cook on LOW setting for 4 to 5 hours. (Watch it the first time you make it and make sure that the noodles are able to get soft, ours were perfect doing it on this setting for this amount of time.)

Enjoy!

Zuppe Toscana! (Yummy Potato Soup)

What is the deal with soup lately? The Sassy Chefs certainly appear to love them, and this creamy potato soup is no different.

Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 medium potatoes
1 package real bacon bits (about a cup)
1 pound Italian sausage
2 cans chicken broth
8 cups water
2 cups roughly chopped kale
salt and pepper to taste

optional:
scallions
cheese

Directions
1. Brown sausage. In the meantime, mince garlic, chop onion, and chop potatoes into bite-size pieces.
2. Put potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into large pot. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
3. Drain sausage. Add sausage and bacon to soup. Simmer on medium 10 minutes and reduce heat to low.
4. Add kale and cream.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat to serving temperature and serve.
6. Optional: Top with chopped scallions and / or shredded cheese.

Its a creamy and satisfying soup and even husbands and boyfriends will dig it because of the sausage and bacon. Yum! Thanks Kim for the recipe!

Kristy

Minestrone Soup

A yummy Italian classic... and warm for winter!

1 T olive oil
1 cup white beans (I use canned white beans and just drain them to save time)
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 onion
2 celery stalks
6 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth if you choose)
1 can diced tomatoes
1T safflower oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 T basil
1T oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 medium red potatoes
3/4 cup fresh green beans
2 carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup macaroni (or any short pasta of your choice; it is easy to make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free pasta)

Directions:
1. Prepare all vegetables so they are ready to add when you need them.
2. Saute onions and garlic in 1 T olive oil
3. Add all other ingredients except pasta and bring to a boil.
4. Add pasta and let boil until tender.
5. Reduce heat and serve!

Creamy Tarragon Chicken

Both my husband and I really enjoy eating chicken as a dinner meat due to its ability to "fill" us, but to have much less fat and calories than its beef counterpart. However, occasionally I start to feel like chicken dishes can "run together" quickly, where they all start to taste the same! I wanted to find a fresh, creamy chicken to serve one night for dinner for Brian and I, and came across this recipe using tarragon. I edited it a little to accomodate our tastes and what I had at our apartment, and came up with the recipe below! Please do enjoy!

Creamy Tarragon Chicken
2 T. butter or margarine
2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. white wine
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. dried tarragon
1 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. of rosemary
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the margarine, milk, wine, mustard, tarragon, garlic salt, and rosemary. Salt and pepper chicken breasts to taste (massaging both into the chicken breast) and place them in baking dish, top with all the creamy mixture and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until chicken is golden brown and no longer pink inside. Serve with yukon potatoes for a great hot meal! Serves 2 - 4.

*Please note: If you'd like, you can substitute the margarine and milk for 1/2c. of sour cream.

Enjoy!
Brittany