Another culinary experiment...veggie lasagna in a slow cooker?

So, I've officially been at my new job for over a month now! Having read my blog and hearing me discuss how much I enjoy trying out new recipes when I have time, my boss mentioned to me the other day that I could feel free to bring my cooking/baking experiments into the office anytime. Hint hint! Hehe :)  So, last Tuesday, I brought in a batch of homemade peanut butter balls (which I chose mostly b/c they are usually a hit when I bring them to parties/events and they don't take very long to make)...turned out to be a bad idea, as half of our office seems to be on a diet. Most of my coworkers were good sports and "splurged" by eating just one, but my fellow JMU alums ended up being the beneficiaries of the leftover PB balls when I brought them to our RVA Dukes chapter meeting that evening. So, note to self...avoid bringing in baked goods until everyone is finished with dieting...although I guess bringing them in after the fact would counteract the progress they already made...hmmm.

Anyway, I decided to embrace my veggie-ness and introduce them to my vegetarian cuisine. The first idea that came to mind was veggie lasagna, so I conducted an office poll to see which veggies were favorites or dealbreakers. After compiling that imperative information, I started making my grocery list, then realized I couldn't exactly bake the lasagna at the office (no oven, obviously), and baking it ahead of time then reheating it in the microwave would be totally unacceptable, as that method would detract from the quality of the finished dish. Thus, I figured I should plan to make something that I could assemble the night before and then cook in a crock pot at work so it would be ready in time for lunch. Having never tried to make lasagna in a slow cooker, I wasn't entirely sure it would work, but a quick google search convinced me that it would. Thus, here's the recipe that I concocted (as well as I remember it, at least :P)

Veggie Crock-Pot Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles (uncooked)
• 1 large jar of tomato sauce (I use Prego Light Smart and doctor it up with some additional spices)
• 1 small jar light alfredo sauce (or make your own)
• 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese (or Italian blend), shredded
• 1/4 cup, plus 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 - 15 oz. containers low-fat ricotta
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• Chopped veggies of choice (I used carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, fresh spinach, & onions based on my co-workers' likes/dislikes, but other veggies that I like to add include bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, & tomatoes
• Black peppercorns, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and garlic (adjust amounts to your liking)

Directions:

1. Coat slow cooker with non-stick spray to save yourself some scrubbing later ;)
2. Chop veggies and season with your favorite spices. Set aside.
3. Cover bottom of crock-pot with tomato sauce.
4. Place a layer of dried lasagna noodles over the sauce (break noodles until they fit.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1/4 cup of parmesan, egg substitute, black pepper, parsley, and garlic.
6. Spread one layer of ricotta mixture over the noodles.
   
   



7. Layer 1/3 of veggies over the ricotta layer.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Cover veggies with alfredo sauce.
   
   



9. Then, sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese over the alfredo sauce, followed by another layer of tomato sauce.
10. Continue layering noodles, ricotta, veggies, alfredo sauce, mozzarella, and tomato sauce until the crock pot is full (or until you run out of ingredients), ending with a final layer of noodles, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
    





I ran out of alfredo sauce for my last layer, but no worries! This recipe is totally flexible, so I just topped the last veggie layer with mozzarella, followed by tomato sauce, noodles, ricotta, tomato sauce, and more mozzarella.

11. If prepping ahead, remove interior crock, cover, and place in the refrigerator. Remove 30 minutes prior to cooking, in order to allow the crock to return to room temperature.
12. Cook on low setting for 4-5 hours, or until noodles are soft and veggies are tender. Feel free to add extra mozzarella 30 minutes prior to serving.

Bon appetit! :)