Slow Cooker Lasagna

Slow Cooker Lasagna
10 Weight Watcher Points per serving
Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked 93% lean ground beef
1 small uncooked onion, chopped
1 clove garlic clove, minced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
6 item uncooked lasagna noodles
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, strong-flavored like Romano or Parmigiana Reggiano

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add beef, onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, breaking p meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 5 quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture, top with half of ricotta mixture.  Repeat with another layer of finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for 4 to 6 hours.  Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture.  Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes.

You can add zucchini to the mix or mushrooms.

Taco Ring

Ben gave me a weird look when I started this, but we both really liked it afterwards. Easy and delicious!!! Thank you Heather's family for another great recipe.

(I got this picture and recipe from a friend's blog. This is not my "Taco Ring", although it does look the same!)

1-1 1/2 lb hamburger (I used ground turkey)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 sm can tomato sauce (maybe 2 if you use more hamburger)
2-3 tubes crescent rolls
lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, olives, cilantro, or other taco toppings
salsa and sour cream

Cook and drain hamburger. Stir in taco seasoning and tomato sauce. On a large pizza pan, lay out crescent triangles all around the outside of the pan with the point of the crescent triangle out over the edge. (when you're done, it'll look like a sun with rays) If you use 1lb hamburger, use 2 tubes of rolls. If you have a bigger family use 3 tubes and 1 1/2 lb hamburger. And move your roll "sunshine" closer to the edge of the pan. This works great if you have a baking stone. Press down the rolls where they overlap, then put the meat on top. Fold the points over the hamburger and tuck under on the inside. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Put lettuce, cheese, etc in the middle of the ring and serve! It looks really cool like this. If you're lazy, just serve it from the stone and have the fixings on a separate plate!

WW Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Philly Cheese Steaks Sandwiches
POINTS® Value: 10
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 22 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

We created a cheese steak sandwich for nearly half the calories of this usually fat-laden Philadelphia specialty.

Ingredients
1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1 pound(s) raw lean flank steak, cut into 8 thin slices
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 medium mixed-grain hamburger roll(s)
1/2 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Coat a large, nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add onion and sugar and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove onion from pan; set aside.
Add steak to skillet and sauté until browned and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and cook until liquid is absorbed.
Slice rolls in half. Divide steak evenly between rolls and top with onion and cheese. Wrap in foil, transfer to oven and bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

PF Changs Mongolian Beef

Ben loves this meal. It takes time but is good. Thanks Carrie for all the great recipes!

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get a major spatter when adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, and then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

2. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty-five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

3. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

4. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels, and then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, and then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, and then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Best Ever Meat Loaf

I have tried many, many meatloaf recipes. My husband LOVES meat loaf. This is, by far, our favorite one that he always requests. It is very different than other recipes and looks harder than it is. Try it and you will not regret it!

4 TBS butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 TBS plus 1/2 teaspoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic (I use meat seasonings mix)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork (available at Winco:)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup very fine dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in 1 Qt sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, green onions, Meat Magic, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and bay leaves. Cook and stir until mixture starts sticking excessively, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom well. Stir in milk and ketchup. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, Cool to room temperature. Discard bay leaves.

Place ground beef and park in un-greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Add eggs, cooked vegetable mixture and bread crumbs. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. In center of pan, shape mixture into 12x6x1 1/2 inch loaf. Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees; bake until no longer pink in the center, about 35 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup sour cream
1 package taco seasoning
2 cups shredded taco cheese
1 bag frozen tater tots

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown beef in skillet, drain excess fat.
3. Add soup, sour cream and taco seasoning.
4. Stir well and pour over a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
5. Top with cheese, then those wonderful Tater Tots.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until Tots are golden brown.
7. You can add olives to this or corn for a twist. Serve with extra sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

Hamburger Stroganoff

This is one of my favorite meals. You can make it with or without mushrooms. I always sauté the mushrooms on the side so people can choose to add them or not.

½ cup minced onion
1 clove of minced garlic
¼ cup butter
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 lb fresh slice mushrooms
1 can (10 ½ oz) cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream

Sauté onion and garlic in butter over medium heat. Stir in meat and brown. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in soup. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Garnish with parsley. Serve with noodles or rice. I prefer rice.

Recipe of the Week

Kim Jensen's Grandma Temple's Famous Spaghetti
Thank you Kim for sharing this at a recipe exchange. It reminds me of a place that we get chicken and spaghetti from at home called Cesar's Chicken. I love being able to make it at home and Ben loves it too.

Brown 1lb. ground beef and then add:
1 46 oz Campbell's tomato Juice
2 8 oz (or one 16 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp Lea & Perrin Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 whole onion with skin peeled off

Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover. Let simmer for at least 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. The nice thing is that it is liquid enough so you do not need to stress over the stirring.

Cook 12 oz (or a little more) spaghetti noodles. Pour sauce over noodles and mix together.