Working 9 to 5 each day is draining and by the time one travels home from work, the desire to relax is usually top priority. Sitting down to watch the game or going out to grab a beer can sound much more appetizing than—well—cooking.

Lasagna gets a bad name because people believe it takes all day to make. Even the cooking impaired can make it though. Photo credit: Tanya

For those who like to come home to a hot meal but don’t enjoy the effort that comes along with it, there are quite a few meals one can prepare which require minimal preparation the morning of or evening before. You can literally prepare it and forget it before work. This series allows anyone, from the person who can’t do much more than boil water, to a full fledged chef, to enjoy a hearty meal that can be cooked for just yourself (with leftovers for tomorrow), your family or to impress a date on a Friday night.

Ingredients:

• Two 24 oz. jars of tomato sauce (any variety can be used, but I suggest choosing one that is pre-seasoned such as “Herb and Garlic” or “Sausage and Peppers”)
• Two 32 oz. containers of ricotta cheese (part skim tastes just as good as whole, but is so much better for you)
• One bag of shredded mozzarella.
• Small container of shredded or ground Parmesan.
• Two boxes of no-boil lasagna pasta
• 1.5 to 2 lbs. of lean ground meat (any meat can be used, I use turkey because of health reasons).

Also suggested:

• A regular sized crock pot
• A spoon for preparation
• A plastic spatula for serving
• A skillet to cook the turkey
• Seasonings such as garlic powder and onion powder
• Parsley or oregano to garnish

Directions:

1. Before layering the pasta, you need to brown the meat in a skillet. Place an entire package of ground meat into a skillet coated with some oil and break the block of meat into small pieces as it browns. Sprinkle garlic and onion powder as it cooks to add additional flavoring. When the meat finishes browning, turn off the stove and take out a mixing bowl.
2. Scoop the ricotta cheese from the containers into a mixing bowl. Next, open the bag of shredded mozzarella and pour out the entire contents into the bowl. Begin to mix these ingredients together. Making sure you save a bit of the parmesan for the topping at the end, add much of the container of Parmesan to the mixture and mix again until all ingredients are evenly dispersed.
3. Next, open the jar of tomato sauce and pour enough to coat the entire bottom of the pot. You should use about a third of the jar of sauce.
4. On top of the sauce, take your pasta and place it in rows on top of the sauce so that it covers the sauce. If you need, snap the pasta into smaller pieces to cover the edges.
5. With a spoon, begin scooping out the cheese mixture and spreading it on top of the pasta already placed into the crock pot. Cover the entire pasta layer using about one-fourth of the cheese mixture.
6. Once you’ve placed a layer of sauce, pasta, and cheese down, you can repeat layering until you run out of ingredients. You should ultimately end the lasagna at the sauce layer, making sure to cover most of the layer below it. To garnish, sprinkle some oregano and parmesan cheese on the top.

Now you’re ready to set it and forget it. If you make it the night before, cover the lasagna and put it in the refrigerator. Before work, take out your pot and turn the dial to the low setting. Your lasagna will be ready in four to five hours. Don’t worry, letting it cook longer won’t hurt it. Crock pots cook at such a low temperature, that it is difficult to overcook or burn your lasagna.

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