There was method to my madness when I began posting recipes regularly here. Someday, I hope this entire site is a gift full of memories of Alexis' childhood, and somewhere in there should be the recipes for the foods of her childhood. Some of the recipes she won't need because she will have seen the meals prepared so many times that she will know them without reference (Vegetable Paella comes to mind--I make it nearly weekly). Others are special treats that are only made on rare occasion.
This one I fully expect will turn into one that grown-up Alexis makes constantly. She'll probably hold it over her kids' heads, too. "When I was a kid, grandma almost never made this for me. It was SO unfair."
To which I say, kid, I grew up on Banquet Chicken and TV Dinners. You can quit your whining.
It's not that I don't like making this Four Cheese Crockpot Lasagna, by the way. It's that Alexis could eat pasta with Ricotta cheese every single day for the rest of her life and she'd be perfectly happy. Anything less than every day is child abuse, in her opinion.
I can't really say that she's wrong.
This recipe includes soft tofu. I know a lot of people are afraid of tofu, but I promise you won't know it's in there. It does nothing to alter the flavor of the other ingredients. So why is it in there if it doesn't add flavor? Well, because it adds a crap-ton (totally a technical term) of protein without adding a lot of calories. The soft tofu that I used in the most recent batch of Four Cheese Crockpot Lasagna had 150 calories in the entire package, but a whopping 20 grams of protein. It's power food.
Sometimes you need a little power food to compensate for your love of chocolate. Not that I have a problem or anything. Ahem.
Four Cheese Crockpot Lasagna
1 pound soft tofu, drained
1 container (24 oz.) ricotta cheese, drained
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dried. Just use 1 teaspoon of each instead of 1 tablespoon.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag pre-washed spinach
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Gouda cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
4 cups marinara sauce
1 package (8 oz) lasagna noodles
1. Place the tofu, ricotta, milk, garlic, lemon juice, basil, oregano, and salt in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
2. Place the shredded mozzarella, gouda, and parmesan in a small bowl and mix them up.
3. Now it's time to layer all the good stuff in your crockpot. You'll need a crockpot that can hold at least 5-quarts, by the way.
Here's the order of the layers:
- 1 cup of marinara sauce
- 1/3 of the lasagna noodles (break them up as needed so that you can cover all of the marinara)
- 1/3 of the spinach
- 1/3 of the ricotta/tofu mixture
- 1/3 of the shredded cheeses
- Repeat, ending with sauce on top
(If you are a cheese freak like I am, throw some more shredded cheese on the very top. You're totally allowed.)
4. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until the noodles are soft.
This recipe is enough to serve probably 6 people. It's also a fantastic banquet-type food because it holds really well (as do most crockpot recipes).
And, if I'm being honest, it's REALLY REALLY GOOD.
Of course, it's hard to go wrong when pasta and ricotta cheese are involved.