A Good Yuleide, Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Happy Solstice to all!
Everyone has holiday traditions, even if that tradition is no tradition at all, and with most of us part of that tradition revolves around food. Take my Thanksgiving tradition for example. Even though some years I crave a turkey dinner with all the fixings, since my son was around five years old, our real Thanksgiving tradition is to have mac and cheese and go to a movie (he got offended by a newscaster saying 'Happy Turkey Day'. He didn't understand why there was a holiday celebrating the death of an animal). One thing that has never changed though, is that for Yule/Christmas dinner, I make a lasagna.
I was really looking forward to making this dish, because I get to use a new piece of equipment - a mini chopper I picked up at Amazon.com. This comes in really handy to do quick chopping. It's a powerful little thing (but a little loud, so don't use it while your roommate is sleeping.)
It's been a little rough for me this week. A few days ago, my car slid into a ditch. No injuries and I thought the car was fine, the only casualty appeared to be the nasty cold I picked up waiting for the tow. Well, the cold got worse, so I missed some work, and the car started vibrating as I was driving. Christmas morning, my car started shouting all kinds of warnings at me. It seems the car's computer turned off the traction and stability systems, and powered down the engine. No way am I driving this up a snow covered mountain. Now I have to have it towed 40 miles to town to have it serviced. Oh joy. At least, when I had to leave early from work because of this miserable cold, I got my lasagna done.
Lasagna is not a difficult dish to make, you just need to get your layers ready to go. I start with the bolognese (meat) sauce, because that takes the longest to prepare, and you can do it the day before. That's the traditional way of making a lasagna. If you don't feel like going through the trouble of making a bolognese sauce, you can break up and brown 4 or 5 hamburger patties and add a jar of the prepared sauce of your choice.
Some people simply use mozzarella cheese for the cheese layer, which is definitely a way to go. I have been using this cheese mixture or years for stuffed shells, and love it in my lasagna. It only takes about 2 minutes to come together.
You also need to prepare your slow cooker. Spray the ceramic insert with a non-stick spray, or using a cooking bag. Even though I have a small crock pot, I use the larger cooking bags, because I got a good price on them, and I can also use them with my 6-qt crock pot, if I ever get the chance to get my stuff from storage. I highly recommend using cooking bags, because clean up is easy. Pull the bag out, wipe down the cooker, done. I've always hated cleaning that ceramic insert for fear of dropping it. In housing, my sink is not large enough to clean it anyway. So if you're using cooking bag, set it in your slow cooker and set it aside.
Like I said, it's been a trying week, but at least I can take comfort in comfort food, while I nurse my cold and watch some basketball.
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Equipment: Induction burner, saucepot, slow cooker
Ingredients:
1 package lasagna noodles
Quick Bolognese Sauce
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsps olive oil
2 - 16 oz cans tomato sauce
1 carrot, shredded
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Cheese mix
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan, shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
additional mozzarella cheese to top, because more cheese
Instructions
Bolognese Sauce
With your induction burner on medium high (5.0), brown the ground beef. Drain the fat and remove beef from the pan.
Add the meat back into the pan and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until reduced by one third.
Cheese Mixture
Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl, and mix till it is uniform.
Building the Lasagna
Now the fun part, layering the lasagna.
Spoon about one third of the bolognese (meat) sauce into the dish.
Place the uncooked lasagna noodles into the dish on top of the meat, breaking the up so that the entire surface is covered.
Spoon about one third of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Top with another layer of noodles.
Continue creating the layers the same way until all the meat and cheese is used. Top with any remaining cheese, ending with a good layer of mozzarella cheese.
Cover the pot and cook on low for 2 - 4 hours, or until the lasagna noodles are completely cooked.
Lasagna is best once it's allowed to rest, so that you cut through all the layers cleanly. By the way, this is a great example of why I love cooking bags. I only have two layers of each, because I was using an open pack of lasagna noodles, and didn't have enough for a third layer, but just take a look at those layers!
I placed the whole thing on a plate and cut the bag out from under it to cut it. Hope you had a great holiday!
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