Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Thumbs Up, Noses Up

Day Two of the fast meal claim challenge is here! Contain your excitement.

Tonight's challenger comes courtesy of EatingWell's "Healthy in a Hurry" One-Pot Meals.

I like EatingWell. I don't subscribe to it because I get about 30 emails from them a day with an overwhelming number of recipes (complete with shiny pictures!) to choose from. And I typically don't, because I get too overwhelmed with the choices! However, despite all that, it didn't stop me from purchasing the latest issue of the publication off the newsstand. For no particular reason other than I wanted it, and my magazine (and shoe) self-control is pretty much nonexistent.

Anywho, after last week's hubs-trainer-fish mini-fiasco, I decided crockpot meals would be a smart (and safe) choice for our somewhat later Tuesday evening dinners. When I happened upon this one as I was strategizing my weekly menu and challenge recipes, it seemed like an almost perfect selection.

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna
Source: EatingWell, November/December 2011

Ingredients:
  • 1 large egg
  • 15-16oz part-skim ricotta
  • 5-oz package baby spinach, chopped (skip - I HATE cooked spinach - but love it raw!)
  • 3 large or 4 small portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced (used pre-sliced, fresh)
  • 1 small zucchini, quartered length-wise and thinly sliced (chopped it)
  • 1-28oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium)
  • 1-28oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (used refrigerated)
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper
  • 15 whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
  • 3 c. shredded mozzarella
Directions:
  • Combine egg, ricotta, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini in large bowl.
  • Combine crushed and diced tomatoes and their juice, garlic and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl.
  • Coat large crock pot with cooking spray. Spread 1.5c tomato mix in crock pot. Arrange 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping them and breaking into pieces to cover sauce if needed. Spread half of ricotta mixture over the noodles and pat down, then spoon on 1.5c sauce and sprinkle with 1c mozz. Repeat the layering one more time, starting with the noodles. Top with a third layer of noodles. Evenly spread the remaining tomato sauce over the noodles. Set aside remaining cheese.
  • Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Turn off crock pot, sprinkle rest of cheese on the lasagna, cover and let melt for 10 mins.
Yield: 8 servings (not sure what an exact serving is. Annoying)
Per serving: 414 cals; 14g fat (8g sat; 4g mono); 63mg chols; 48g carbs; 28g protein; 641mg sodium

Reviews:
First - the time challenge. I had exactly 15 minutes to get this done before the kid rolled off the bus, and I finished in just that amount of time. The most time-consuming part of the preparation? Layering the lasagna. Score!

Second - the taste. I thought this was delish. It was so nice to have a hot dinner waiting for me when I got home, and I liked the veggies. I would even consider adding MORE zucchini next time around (not that there will be a next time anytime soon, but still...). The boys, on the other hand, did not appreciate the zucchini (kid) or the vast amount of tomatoes (hubs).

Ranking:
Three Forks
Cheesy, carby goodness - sure to make my trainer super pleased!

2 comments:

  1. That looks YUUUMMMMM. I too am a fan of slow cookers. I love piling everything in first thing in the, being able to go about my day unemvumbered, whilst our house fills with fantabulous aromas. Then hunker down when I'm tired and hungry, not having to do much other than set the table. (Or on a good day, get the chillins to do that too.) *love*

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  2. my aplogies for the typos. my jeyboard is broken. can you tell?

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