Elizabeth Goddard's Easy Slow-Cooker Lasagna

Elizabeth Goddard is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than twenty-five romance novels and counting, including the romantic mystery, THE CAMERA NEVER LIES--a 2011 Carol Award winner. She is a double finalist in the 2016 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for her novels BURIED and BACKFIRE in the Mountain Cove series. 

A 7th generation Texan, Elizabeth graduated from North Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in high-level software sales for several years before retiring to home school her children and fulfill her dreams of writing full-time. She currently makes her home in Minnesota with her husband and children.To get book news sign up for her newsletter at her website: http://elizabethgoddard.com

Elizabeth's Latest Book Release: DECEPTION

Mountain Cove Series: In the Alaskan wilderness, love and danger collide

Jewel Caraway thought she'd left her mistakes in the past—but then her past arrives at her door. Though she's thrilled to reunite with her estranged sister, something about her sister's new husband makes Jewel uneasy. Does he know her secret? Is he the one behind the growing list of attacks against her? And if he is involved…does that mean her sister is, too? With nowhere else to turn, Jewel must rely on police chief Colin Winters—the first man to make the widow question her resolve to never love again. But will he stay by her side when her guarded secrets are revealed? Purchase Beth's book HERE. 

Beth’s Easy Slow-cooker Lasagna

A Note from Beth: I especially love this recipe because the lasagna is moist and doesn’t dry out with baking. I used to be terrified of lasagna—it seemed so complicated. But I started making it and discovered it’s as easy as making spaghetti with sauce. Plus, variety is the spice of life. Once you learn what lasagna’s all about, you can experiment and/or use what you have in your pantry, mostly.

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles (you don’t have to cook them ahead of time and you don’t have to buy no bake. Also, if you prefer regular noodles instead of whole wheat, go for it.)

1 pint of ricotta cheese (more or less, to taste, or use cottage cheese)

2 cups of mozzarella cheese (more or less, to taste)

1 cup of Parmesan cheese (again, to taste)

Spaghetti sauce of preference. (Sometimes this is two cans of crushed tomatoes seasoned with basil. Other times I brown beef and/or sausage and make marinara sauce. Just make a big sauce pan full so there’s plenty)

Chopped kale (optional). This is kind of a fun addition and makes me think I’m trying to be healthy by getting a super food into the lasagna. The kids thinks it’s parsley or the green flecks you sometimes see in pasta. You can’t taste it. 

Now, you’re ready to go. In a medium size bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese) with one cup of the mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheese.  Set aside. Pour enough sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker to cover it. Layer noodles. (I put two down in the center and then break another up to fill in the spaces since noodles don’t exactly come shaped for slow-cookers) Then drop a few dollops of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles and press down to cover them completely if possible, the best you can. The cheese will melt and spread out even more with the cooking. Pour half the sauce on. Layer noodles over the sauce and then last of the ricotta. Your last layer should be sauce.

Set your crockpot on high for four hours or so. You might have to play around with it—slow cookers vary, but I find about four hours on high does the trick. Check it at 3 hours or 3 and a half to be sure. The last step is to spread the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top and let the hot lasagna melt the cheese. Then let it sit for at least 20 minutes or until slightly cooled so that when you cut it, the layers stay in place.