Easy Spinach Mushroom Beef Slow Cooker Lasagna

By Natalie 



Perfect for the season and really easy to make, today we are going to take a look at a way to cook "lasagna" in a slow cooker that uses ravioli in place of noodles. This dish is both very satisfying and full of the familiar lasagna flavours we all love so much.







Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 large bag (750-850 grams) frozen spinach & cheese ravioli
3 - 500 ml. can of crushed tomatoes
1 to 2 cups chopped brown mushrooms
1 medium onion
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan saute the mushrooms and onions over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the beef to pan and brown. Once the beef is browned, stir in the tomatoes and seasonings and then add the sauteed mushrooms and onions.

Once everything has been stirred together, get out your slow cooker. This recipe works best with a 6 qt. or larger slow cooker.

Ladle a layer of the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. Then top with a layer of the frozen ravioli. You can use any cheese ravioli you like though I used spinach and cheese.

Cover the ravioli with a layer of mozzarella cheese.

Repeat these layers until you have used all the ravioli and then make the final layer a layer of the beef and mushroom sauce. Top this with the mozzarella and the Parmesan.

Put the slow cooker cover on and cook on low for 4 hours.

Simple and delicious fare. Serve with garlic bread and red wine.

See also: Clay Baked Lasagna

See also: Deep Dish Pizza Sandwich

November: Andrew Coyne, Mulcair's NDP, Non-violence and Islamophobia -- The month on The Left Chapter in review

November saw the least number of posts in The Left Chapter's short history with only 20, though it also had the blog's highest number of total hits for any month so far.

While all of the top posts did very well, the first post in terms of hits truly struck a nerve and had the second highest number of hits of any piece on the Left Chapter to date.

Without any further ado the top five posts in terms of hits for the month of December were:

1) Reinforcing male privilege -- The Trudeau cabinet, Andrew Coyne and the mythology of "merit"

You really have to love it when the beneficiaries of the greatest social assistance program in the history of Western Civilization and Canada -- the one that did and has rewarded white men for having been born white men since the day the country was founded -- talk about "merit" to bemoan newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to make his cabinet have an equal number of men and women, thereby reflecting the actual gender composition of the country.

Read More!

2) Mulcair's NDP ran a great campaign! We know this because they say they did

By Fraser Needham

It has now been almost three weeks since the NDP suffered a devastating loss in the 2015 federal election and the party remains shell shocked as to what exactly went wrong.

Read More! 

3) As Liberals and Conservatives look for success, Mulcair NDP embraces failure

By Fraser Needham

The NDP has become a very funny organization these days.

And by this I mean funny “strange” and not funny “ha ha.”

Read More!

4) Non-violence -- There is a way to stop the cycle

In a world so full of anger, oppression, hate and counter-hate, so full of racism, misogyny, homophobia, bigotry, so full of the disasters of nationalism and the extremism of ideology, it is always seen as somehow naive or utopian to point out that at some moment, somewhere, the cycle of violence has to end.

Read More!

5) North America's wave of Islamophobia -- This is what the start of fascism looks like

This has been a week where the pretence of civility, acceptance and  multi-cultural tolerance has been challenged in North America not just by the usual suspects that are the forces of right wing reaction, but as well by those who call themselves progressive and who should know better.

Read More! 

The top food post for the month was "Slow Cooker Sausage Lasagna"

Do you have a left point-of-view or opinion, a recipe or a story you want to share?

Send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

Check out our review for the month of October: October: Delusion, catastrophe and panic beset the NDP -- The month on The Left Chapter in review

Slow Cooker Sausage Lasagna

with Natalie Lochwin

Today we want to take a look at an easy and delicious way to make one of the world's great comfort foods. This is preparing a family sized lasagna in your slow cooker.


Making lasagna in the slow cooker has the advantage of not simply being one of the easiest ways to make it, but as with many slow cooker recipes once you have put the dish together it simply cooks away quietly in the background until ready.

First you need to make the sauce. While ground beef or pork can be used, here we are going to make the lasagna with sausage, which adds both a different flavour and texture.

Take 4-6 uncooked Italian style sausages ( we used the "hot" variety to add a very slight kick to the dish) and brown them in olive oil for about 5 minutes a side.

Remove from the saucepan and slice them up into small pieces. Meanwhile, chop up one medium sized onion. Combine the chopped sausage and onion and add back to the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat in olive oil -- breaking up the sausage with your spatula as you go -- until the sausage is fully cooked and the onion golden. This will take around 5-7 minutes.

When the sausage and onion is ready, you want to add 2 large (650 ml.) jars of an Italian tomato based pasta sauce. Pick your sauce wisely as they can add considerable flavour. We would suggest slightly more premium brands like Classico. We used a jar of a Roasted Garlic and Onion blend and a jar of a Spinach and Cheese blend.

You can, of course, use whatever brand and style you want.

Mix the onion, sausage and sauce together adding about a tablespoon of Italian seasoning.

In a separate mixing bowl blend together 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of ricotta cheese and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Grate another cup of mozzarella and set aside in the fridge.



In the slow cooker put 1/4 of the sauce across the bottom. Top this with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. DO NOT USE OVEN READY! They will overcook. Break the noodles up so that they fit.

Break up uncooked noodles to fit

Top this with another quarter of the sauce and spread half of the cheese on top of this. Put down another layer of the noodles and again top with 1/4 of the sauce and the other half of the cheese.  Finally top with one last layer of the noodles and the last 1/4 of the sauce.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4-6 hours.

With 10 minutes to go until the cooking is complete, turn off the slow cooker, remove the lid, and top the lasagna evenly  with the other cup of grated mozzarella cheese. Put the lid back on and let sit for 10 minutes or until the cheese on top is fully melted.

Serve directly from the slow cooker.

Layers of sauce and cheese

This dish goes perfectly with red wine, crusty traditional style bread and is an especially big hit with kids!

Enjoy.

See also: Clay Baked Lasagna

See also: Slow Cooked Curried Goat Stew

Clay Baked Lasagna

Submitted by Natalie Lochwin



A delicious and easy meal, clay baked lasagna takes a classic and adds new levels of flavour and moistness. This version comes from years of practice!

Put your clay baker to soak filled with cool water. For instructions on prepping a clay baker, see this previous blog post).

 

•  1 box oven ready lasagna noodles (whole wheat, spinach or white-your choice)
• 1 carton of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 mozzarella ball
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used basil flavor)
• 1 lg diced clove of garlic
• 1 diced onion
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1medium eggplant. Thinly slice 1 half and dice the other half . (Salt the eggplant and allow to drain in a colander for 10-20 minutes, quickly rinse to remove excess salt. Squeeze and pat dry. This removes some bitterness and extra water)
• 1 shredded zucchini
• 7 sliced mushrooms
• 250 ml water
• Salt, white pepper, dry oregano, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg

In a medium or large frying pan cook the ground beef until nicely browned. Drain extra fat. Add diced onion and garlic, zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant. Add a bit of red wine or water if your pan cooks dry. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce. Stir occasionally until veggies are quite soft and cooked through, 10-15mins. Taste and season accordingly.

Start your sauce while the filling cooks to save some time. Add 1 minced clove of garlic and 1 tsp of  olive oil to a cold heavy bottomed saucepan. Turn on the heat and gently cook the garlic until you can smell its aroma. Add the oregano. Add the tomato sauce and pasta sauce, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, dash of sugar, 1/2 tsp  Worcestershire or Thai fish sauce.  Add 1/2 cup of water. Allow to bubble away. Add more water as needed if the sauce begins to thicken. This is meant to be a fairly loose sauce so as  to cook the oven ready  noodles. Keep the sauce fairly warm as you assemble the lasagna.
 

Mix 1/2 tub of ricotta cheese with the cottage cheese, and add a dash  of nutmeg & white pepper as well as the 2 eggs. Stir until mixed. Shred the mozzarella and add (placing it in the freezer for a few minutes prior to shredding makes this easier) reserving a good handful to top the lasagne. Salting the cheese filling is not necessary. It is a nice contrast to the seasoned sauce, meat & vegetables.

Drain your clay baker, and ladle about 1/4 of the sauce over its bottom. Cover with a layer of noodles, snapping them to fit. Add a layer of ricotta, top with noodles, then add a layer of ricotta and meat filling. Top with sauce, add another layer of noodles, repeat with ricotta and meat and sauce and noodles until the baker is near filled. Finish with a final layer of noodles and top these with sauce. Finally, top with with the reserved mozzarella. Cover the baker with its lid and place in a COLD OVEN (always remember to do this with clay bakers). Turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 1 hour. If you wish to, you may take the top off for the final ten minutes to further brown the cheese.

This makes enough for 5-6 people.

Serve with a salad and red wine. Great the next day, even cold. The kids loved it!