I have this great friend, Jillaire. If you've been following along for a while, you've seen me mention her before. (She's here and here, nameless, and here with credit given for her genius creation of chocolate cake with cinnamon frosting.) Jillaire and I have this wonderful relationship in which we really take advantage of each other's strengths. She comes to me when she needs ideas from blogland. I go to her for fabulous recipes.
When she told me she had a yummy lasagna recipe that used squash and ricotta, during a week I had decided I needed lasagna, and then she told me I could make it in a crock pot. . . you can bet I ran right out to the store to gather ingredients.
I mean, lasagna in a crock pot. Is there anything better on Earth?
Look. It even gets brown. I was in awe.
With just pasta, ricotta, squash, spinach and nutmeg, it is a teeny bit on the bland side when you're expecting “lasagna.” But if you top it with a little marinara (or cayenne and hot sauce like Hubs did), or even just decrease the ricotta a little (Jillaire suggested 24oz instead of 32oz), you're good to go.
I definitely plan to try traditional lasagna in the crock pot. If that works, it could be dangerous. I'll be making lasagna all the time!
Ooh, another tip from my wonderful friend—plug in the crock pot outside during the summer. (In a dry, protected area, of course.) No heating up the house!
Here's a different recipe for summer lasagna. What's your favorite lasagna variation?
