Slow Cooker Lasagna

 Spicy Italian sausage is my go-to meat for lasagna and meatballs. It adds such wonderful flavor! This slow cooker lasagna is easy to put together, plus you can walk away and come back to deliciousness without worrying about it burning in the oven.

Growing up, my older sister and I took turns cooking dinner when my mom went back to work. One of my favorites was the Hamburger Helper with that pasta that looks like lasagna noodles but way skinnier. When my younger sister got old enough to cook too, she often made real lasagna. It was sort of her specialty and I guess it still is.


You really can’t compare Hamburger Helper to real lasagna but I’m going to dare to compare the real stuff with one cooked in a slow cooker. I must confess that it doesn’t look as pretty as a neatly cut square of an oven-baked casserole and the crispy bits around the edges that we all fight over are missing. But all in all, with a huge plus for ease of assembly and hands-off time, it’s quite delicious, especially when made with spicy Italian sausage meat.

Ingredients
2.2 lbs or 1kg spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
4 cups or 360g grated mozzarella cheese.
2 cups or 500g ricotta
12 sheets (about 8 oz or 225g) uncooked lasagna noodles
6 cups or 1475g spaghetti sauce (your favorite)

To serve: freshly grated Parmesan and sprigs of parsley, if desired

Method
Pan fry and drain your sausage meat, breaking it into crumbles. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little while.

Put about 1 cup or 240ml of sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker. Layer in 3-4 lasagna noodles, breaking off the corners so they sit nicely in your slow cooker. Put the little broken pieces in any gaps.






Mix the ricotta cheese in with the crumbled sausage meat.




Add one half of the meat/ricotta to the top of the noodles.



Then sprinkled on one third of the shredded cheese and add another cup or so of the sauce to the top.




Repeat the process starting with another layer of noodles. Finish with noodles then sauce. You should have one third of the mozzarella left. Put it in the refrigerator for later.




Cook for six hours on low.




After about five hours.


About 1 hour before serving, add the reserved shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover and cook until melted.




To serve, try to scoop up a good cross section of the lasagna through all the layers.

Top with fresh grated Parmesan, if desired. That’s non-negotiable in our house. A little parsley adds color as well.




Enjoy!

Pin this Slow Cooker Lasagna!

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Yiaourti Me Meli (Greek Yogurt and Honey) Muffins #MuffinMonday

Modeled after the Greek breakfast/snack/dessert of thick yogurt sweetened with honey then topped with walnuts, these muffins have all that, in a tender crumb. 

If you stopped by here yesterday to see my slow-cooked, falling off the bones, lamb shoulder, you’ll know that I’ve had Greek recipes on the brain. Since today is Muffin Monday, the best start to the last week of the month, I decided to take a classic Greek recipe and turn it into muffins as well. May I say that it was an excellent choice. As I mentioned yesterday, I haven’t been to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 but now I have read a few reviews and found them most dispiriting after waiting all this time for a sequel.

Never mind, we have muffins! Make sure you scroll on down and see the other lovelies my Muffin Monday group members have baked up for you too.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1/4 cup or 58g demerara sugar, plus extra for decorating, if desired
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup or 250g Greek yogurt
1/2 cup or 120ml honey
1/4 cup canola or 60ml other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 100g walnuts

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F and 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with muffin papers.

Measure your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Separate out 12 good looking walnuts for garnish and then chop the rest coarsely.

Whisk your eggs, yogurt, honey, oil and vanilla together in a small mixing bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.

Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan.

Top each with a reserved walnut and sprinkle on some extra demerara sugar, if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Happy Muffin Monday from all the Muffin Monday bakers! Look what we've made for you today!

• Blueberry Streusel Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Cranberry Orange Muffins from Making Miracles
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Butter Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Quiche Lorraine Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yiaourti Me Meli (Greek Yogurt and Honey) Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Vegetables

You can’t beat lamb shoulder, slow roasted with loads of vegetables, rosemary and garlic. It practically falls off the bone, the succulent lamb is so tender. I promise you won't even need a knife.

This week my Sunday Supper group is joyously celebrating a wedding we wish we could really attend, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the sequel to one of our favorite movies. It’s been a long time coming! When the theme for this week was first announced, all I could think about was the quote from Aunt Voula, and one of my favorite scenes from the first movie.

Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don't eat no meat?
[the entire room stops, in shock]
Aunt Voula: Oh, that's okay. I make lamb.

So I had to make lamb. We eat lamb a minimum of three to four times a month at our house, either roasted leg or shoulder, lamb steaks, lamb patties with mashed potatoes and gravy, not to mention grilled lamb chops. This dish is one of our favorites and would make a great main course for Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday which will be celebrated on May 1st this year.

Make sure you scroll down and check out the link list of all the other My Big Fat Greek Wedding-inspired dishes we are sharing today, along with our talented host, Nichole from Casa de Crews. What a fabulous Greek wedding feast this would be!

Adapted from JamieOliver.com.

Ingredients
2 purple onions (approx. weight 9 oz or 255g)
3 carrots (approx. weight 9 oz or 255g)
2- 3 stalks celery (approx. weight 3 3/4 oz or 105g)
Few sprigs fresh thyme
5-6 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus 1 for garnish, if desired
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 lb 10 oz or 2.55kg lamb shoulder, bone in
2 1/3 oz or 65g cloves garlic (about 15)
2 red chili peppers (optional but we love the hint of spice that infuses the whole dish)
4 ripe tomatoes (approx. weight 11 oz or 312g)
2 cans – 14oz or 400g – whole plum tomatoes
1 2/3 cups or 375ml drinkable red wine (half a bottle)
2 bay leaves
1 large leek (approx. weight 14 oz or 400g, before trimming)

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and make sure the shelves are positioned so that you put a pan with a big lamb shoulder in it. I use my large Le Creuset roaster so I put the shelf almost at the bottom to leave room for the cover and its round handle.

Peel the onions and carrots. Quarter the onions. Cut the carrots and celery into bite-sized pieces.

Strip the leaves off of your thyme and sprinkle half of them into the bottom of a large roasting pan, along with a good drizzle of olive oil, a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Season the bottom of your lamb shoulder with more salt and pepper and lay it on the herb bed.

Use a sharp paring knife to poke holes in the top of the lamb shoulder, then stuff these holes with a quarter or half a clove of garlic (depending on the size of your clove) and a few rosemary leaves.

Give the whole thing a good sprinkle of salt, fresh ground black pepper. Add on the other half of the thyme leaves and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Add the onions, celery and chili peppers around the lamb shoulder.

Chop your tomatoes in large pieces and add them to the pot along with the carrots.

Pour in the canned tomatoes, along with half a can of water and the rest of the garlic cloves.

Pour in the wine and then tuck the bay leaves down in between the vegetables.

Thoroughly clean the leek, cut off and discard the hard green end, and then chop the white part into small cylinders. Add these to the pot.

Cover the roasting pan tightly with a double layer of heavy-duty foil or its tight fitting cover and put it into the oven. Turn down the oven temperature to 325°F or 170°C and cook for about three hours.

Remove the cover or the foil, baste the lamb shoulder with the juice in the pan or drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Cook for another 30 minutes or until the lamb is nicely browned and falling off the bone.

You can gently remove some of the bones before putting it on the table for folks to help themselves or pull it apart for them in the kitchen.

Either way, serve it with some crusty bread to sop up all the juices. Or over the top of some mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 yet? It just opened in the cinemas here in Dubai but I haven’t had a chance go yet so I am going to have to just console myself with some movie-inspired dishes instead. Won’t you join me?

Greek Appetizers:

• Greek Salad (Horiatiki Salata) by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Greek-Style Sliders with Feta Aioli by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Mushroom, Kalamata Olive and Feta Stuffed Phyllo with Whipped Feta Dip by Pook’s Pantry
• Rosemary and Olive Grissini by What Smells So Good?
• Socca Pizza with Spinach, Roasted Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, and Feta by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Spanakopita Bites by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Tiropitas (Greek Cheese Triangles ) by Moore or Less Cooking
• Tyropita Appetizer Bites by The Freshman Cook

Greek Soups:

• Avgolemono Chicken Zoodle Soup by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Quick and Easy Greek Avgolemono Soup by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Shrimp Avgolemono with Spinach by Monica’s Table
• Vegetarian Magiritsa (Greek Easter Soup) by Palatable Pastime

Greek Breakfast:

• Baklava French Toast with Cinnamon Honey Syrup by A Mind Full Mom

Greek Main Dishes:

• Brizola (Greek-style Pork Chops) by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Chicken Greek Salad Flatbread by Family Foodie
• Greek Chirashi Sushi by NinjaBaker
• Greek Breakfast Wraps by Brunch-n-Bites
• Greek Meatball Salad by Magnolia Days
• Gyro Meatballs with Lemon Rice by Casa de Crews
• Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) by Curious Cuisiniere
• Mediterranean Meatball Gyros Sandwich by Life Tastes Good
• Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Vegetables by Food Lust People Love
• Souvlaki Chicken Wraps with Homemade Tzatziki by The Crumby Cupcake
• Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew) by Caroline’s Cooking

Greek Side Dishes:

• Greek-style rice salad by Pine Needles In My Salad
• Greek Zucchini Fritters by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Homemade Tzatziki Sauce by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Spanakorizo by Feeding Big and More

Greek Desserts:

• Chocolate Baklava by The Chef Next Door
• Greek Lemon Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Greek Spice Cake by Our Good Life
• Greek Walnut Cake by Pies and Plots
• Greek Wedding Cookies - Kourabiethes/Kourabiedes by La Bella Vita Cucina
• Loukoumades - Greek Donuts by The TipToe Fairy
• Loukoumades (Greek honey fritters) by The Redhead Baker

Greek Beverages:

• Ouzito: The Greek Mojito by Hardly A Goddess

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