Frugal Friday...Crock Pot Lasagna

Today's Frugal Friday tip is on home cooking. All the food made in this home is preservative free due to allergies. It takes some hunting during shopping to make sure that all the ingredients are all natural but it is worth it! By shopping the canned food warehouses I can save quite a bit on these sorts of foods when they are available, as these sorts of stores don't always carr the same sort of inventory. So I shop there first to see what they have compared to the needs on my shopping list. I have been able to save ingredients for Lasagna. I like to stock up on these as this is my one of my husbands favorite meals. However, turning on the oven in the summer when the temps are in the 90's and there is no air conditioning doesn't seem right! I came across directions for a Crock Pot Lasagna recipe that seems to work just great for us. Of course Dear Husband took some time to get used to the idea of "round" Lasagna compared to "square" Lasgana. I quickly reminded him that we could have Lasagna in the "Summer" as well as the "Winter" if he didn't mind the shape. He succeded after the first trial run! Tastes the same, go for it! So here are the directions to adapt your favorite Lasgna Recipe to the crock pot.

Crock Pot Lasagna
Make a batch of preservative free fresh Lasagna sauce with meat

My sauce...

Brown 1 lb. hamburger and add,

2 cups frozen tomato paste saved from the large can I bought for the same price as two small ones. 2 cups water, 1 cup grape juice, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos, salt and pepper and fresh garlic crushed garlic to taste. 1 cup chopped bell pepper, assorted colors, 1 cup mushrooms. A few fresh herbs for now..Basil, spicy oregano, rosemary and such...

I usually make this the day before to let it simmer and let the tastes blend. (kind of a sweet taste to it)

Or use a can of sauce found on sale and doctor it up!

The Next Day...

Short on time for dinner ...no problem

Add some fresh herbs to the sauce

Toss some sauce at the bottom of the crock pot

Layer with Lasagna noodles right out of the box.

Just break them into lengths short enough to fit across the bottom.

Another layer of sauce

then crisscross the noodles the other way

Layer with shredded Mozzarella

Then Sauce

Noodles

Ricotta cheese if you have it or more Mozzarella

Layer until crock pot is filled leaving at least three inches space.

Top with cheese and more veggies...Chopped bells peppers all colors, and musrooms.

Pour one cup water over the whole thing!

Cover and simmer on high for two hours, or low for three or more ..

You will find the right amount of time for your crock pot

We like the edges crunchy so we leave it a bit longer.

I also plug the crock pot on in the shed to not heat the house in the summer.

Best of all...

At dinner time the kitchen is cool and clean and the table is set.

I've also made it for company and we ate it out on the back deck and served it up from a side table with a great big salad. Complete with tiki torches and Iced tea to make a lovely summer time memory. Another plus is that we usually have many leftovers that can be frozen for work time lunches. Enjoy!

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