Crock Pot Pesto Lasagna

-Cooking Light- Slow Cooker

Looking for a vegetarian lasagna? This one's awesome. Hubby gave it 4 stars. The pesto's great.

I just realized Kris posted a very similar recipe. Oops. Well, now you have two to choose from. :)

4 c. torn spinach, steamed

2 c. cremini mushrooms, sliced (though the type doesn't matter so much)

1/2 c. commerical pesto

3/4 c. mozzarella chhese, shredded

3/4 c. provolone, shredded

15 oz. carton ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. parmesan cheese (plus 1/2 c. for later)

26 oz. jar tomato pasta sauce

8 oz. can tomato sauce

8 oz. package precooked lasagna noodles

cooking spray/ shortening

Steam spinach, squeeze dry, chop coarse, and combine with mushrooms and pesto in medium bowl.

Combine cheeses & egg in another bowl (add 1/4 c. parmesan last)

Combine tomato sauces in another bowl.

Grease large 6 quart oval slow cooker. Line: 1 c. tomato sauce, 1 c. lasagna noodles, 1 c. cheese mix, 1 c. spinach mix. Continue til noodles gone, top with sauce and add remaining 1/2 c. parmesan.

Cover and cook on low 5 hours.

Yields 8 servings.

So not vegan, but very vegetarian. And very good.

p.s. let me just testify of the miracle that is precooked lasagna noodles. I'm a convert.

Crockpot Mexican Minestrone

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 14 1/2-ounce cans Mexican style stewed tomatoes
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
1 15 1/4-ounce can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups diced red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen or canned green beans
1 cup salsa

cheese, sour cream and taco chips

In a 5 or 6 -quart slow cooker combine drained black beans, undrained tomotoes, broth,corn, garbanzo beans, potatoes, green beans and salsa. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours or high-heat setting for 4 1/2 hours to 5 hours. Serve with cheese, sour cream and taco chips.
Makes 12 servings.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - King Arthur Flour

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
2 cups peeled/shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips for icing

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, lightly grease 9 x 13 pan

In large mixing bowl, cream together butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat in eggs.

Stir in the sour cream (buttermilk or yogurt) with the flour. Then add the cocoa powder, mixing until smooth. Finally, fold in the zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top springs back lightly when touched. Slide the cake out of the oven, sprinkle it evenly with the 1 cup chocolate chips and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and use a cake spatula or rubber spatula to spread the chocolate chips into a smooth glaze. Cool on a rack.

Crockpot Pesto Spinach Lasagne
from "A Year of Slow Cooking"
Serves 8-10

1 (26 ounce) jar prepared pasta sauce
1 (10 ounce) box lasgna noodles
1 (11 ounce) container pesto
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 (12 ounce) bag baby spinach
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese - fresh
1/4 cup dry Parmesan cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese - sliced
1/4 cup water

Spray bottom and sides of Crockpot with Pam. Put about 1/4 cup pasta sauce in bottom of Crockpot and spread around. Add of layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (you are going to have to break them to layer them). Smear with ricotta cheese then add pesto. Add a handful or two of baby spinach and top with layer of Parmesean and sliced mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers starting with pasta sauce until you run out of ingredients. The spinach is fluffy so you will need to squish it down. Before putting the lid on the Crockpot, pour the 1/4 cup water into the pasta sauce jar and swirl around. Pour this water on top of everything. Sprinkle with dry Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for about 3 hours. You will know it is done when the top layer begins to brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. It will also pull a bit away from the sides. Uncover and let sit for 15 minutes.

"Mama's Old Fashioned Bread"

- Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook

Many thanks to Kat for physically coming over and reassuring me that bread is not as scary to make as I first assumed.
I've made this a few times this week already, and I eat way more than my share of it- it's hard to maintain self-control when it tastes to dang good.
ADVISORY:
This bread takes a few days to reach fruition, but it's worth it.

LESSONS LEARNED:
1. The late morning is a good time to start this recipe, as you'll end up baking it in the afternoon 2 days later.
2. Kneading by hand (at least with this recipe) is not bad, but keeping your hands and surfaces sufficiently floured is key to it's success.
3. Make sure you have THREE bread pans on hand, or you'll be running to your neighbor's in a panic looking to borrow one.
4. Don't bake this when you're home alone, otherwise you'll have eaten a whole loaf by yourself before your Hubby can come home to stop you.

(You see this?! Yeah, I made it all by myself!)

STARTER:
One 1/4 oz package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 2 1/2 cups water. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave the starter out at room temperature for 24 hours.
Transfer 1 cup of the starter to a separate large bowl, cover loosely, and leave it out at room temperature for 12 hours more. Refrigerate the rest of the starter, covered, and feed it every 3-5 days.
(To feed the started combine 1 cup water with 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tbs potato flakes and stir. The starter will keep for years if you feed it regularly and keep it refrigerated.)

BREAD:
1 cup starter
6 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1/2 cup oil (they say corn oil, I used olive) plus more for brushing
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs salt

Lightly grease a large bowl. In bowl with starter, add 1 1/2 cups water and stir. Then add remaining ingredients. Knead once or twice in the bowl, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a stiff dough forms, adding more flour as needed by the 1/4 cupful. (I found if you get it to the consistency where you can pull your hand out of kneading it without globs of dough sticking to you, it's ready.) Place dough in the greased bowl, brush the top with oil, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave the dough out at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until it has tripled in size.

Lightly grease three 9x5 loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three equal pieces. Knead each piece once or twice, form into a loaf, and place in the prepared pan. Bursh tops of the loaves with oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until the dough has again tripled in size. he dough will be puffed over the tops of the pans.

Prehead oven to 350*. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are an even golden brown, with not light spots. Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for 20-30 minutes, then gently turn them out. Once the bread has cooled completely, cut into thick slices to serve.

Spinach Flatbread Pizza

-Taste of Home Magazine

This one is very easy. The hubster gave it 4 stars- I gave it 5 out of simplicity and yummy goodness. I don't follow the measurements with precision on this one. Be your own boss when it comes to making imitation pizza. :)


- 1 small onion, sliced
- olive oil
- 4 pita flatbreads
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Alfredo sauce (bottled or see below) OR hummus

Caramelize/saute onions in oil. Put pitas on baking sheet (line with foil to control mess level) and add ingredients like unto pizza. Bake at 425* for 6-8 min (or until cheese burns to your liking.)
Makes 4 small pizzas which can feed two ravenous people or four people with munchies.
Note: My pizzas tend to stick to the pan/foil. I tried sprinkling the underside of the pita with cornmeal this time, and it worked like a non-stick charm. Never understood why Pizza Hut did this, but now I finally get it. :)

** Alfredo sauce (if you want to make your own):
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)
1/8 cup butter
1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbs parsley (give or take)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder (or a little more if you like it)

Melt butter in pan, add cream, and then everything else. It tends to be a little soupy, so I thickened mine up at the end with some cornstarch, but you could use flour as well, or just leave it as is. This amount makes enough for 4 pizzas.

Black Bean Hummus

If you can't tell, Mr. Picky is on a black bean crusade right now. Don't know where he got this recipe but he's experimented with many different versions and likes this one the best.

1 clove garlic (smaller one)
1 can black beans (drain & reserve liquid)
2 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs tahini
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp black pepper)
1/4 tsp paprika
olive oil

Put all in blender and blend. Accentuate with olive oil when serving.