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Ultimate Slow Cooker Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lb lean ground beef (if possible grass-fed)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 6 medium zucchinis (sliced)
  • 3 cups (~24oz) tomato sauce, no salt added
  • 2 large vine tomatoes (chopped)
  • 1 ½ cup 2% cottage cheese
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 ½ cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
  • Seasonings:
    • 1½ tablespoon rosemary
    • 1½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
    • 1 tablespoon Spice Cave Land paleo seasoning (garlicky and herb flavored to give it extra flavor)

Steps

Step 1

Prepare the zucchini. Using a mandolin make thin slices of zucchini to cut strips. Slightly larger than the thickness of a nickel. IMPORTANT TIP: after you cut the zucchinis it is very important that you allow them to dry on a paper towel for about 20 minutes. Why? They tend to carry a lot of water and if you don’t, you’ll end up with a lot of water liquid in the slow cooker from both the steam and the zucchini.

Step 2

Prepare the meat. Spray a skillet with olive oil and set on medium high heat. Toss in garlic and brown for about 2 minutes. Next, toss in the meat and chop and cook for about 4 minutes.

Step 3

Add the seasonings to the meat and continue to chop and cook until the meat is fully cooked, about another 4 to 5 minutes.

Step 4

Reduce the heat to medium and add tomatoes and tomato sauce to the meat. Stir thoroughly and ensure there are no large chunks of ground meat. If so, chop them up with a wooden spatula. Season to taste with sea salt & pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes and then remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 5

Mix together egg whites and cottage cheese in a bowl and set aside.

Step 6

Spray the inside of the slow cooker with olive oil and build the lasagna. Add a little meat sauce and then zucchini strips, cottage cheese mixture and then repeat.

Step 7

Add meat sauce to the top layer of zucchini strips and then cover with mozzarella. If desired you can toss in basil for extra flavor and aroma.

Step 8

Cook for about 4 hours on normal/medium heat. After it has finished, in some cases, there may be a small layer of water covering the top layer of cheese. It is likely from steam and water from the tomatoes and zucchinis. Just scoop it out using a measuring cup or large spoon.

Step 9

Slice and serve.