Slow-Cooker Lasagna and Banana Bread (or muffins)

Yesterday I decided to try a recipe I'd been eyeing for awhile. Mom actually spotted it first, in the latest issue of the Kraft Food and Family magazine. It's Slow Cooker Lasagna, and I was excited to just throw it all in the Crock Pot so it would be ready when we got home from running errands yesterday afternoon. It was sooo easy and quick to prepare, and quite yummy!! I don't think I love it as much as traditional lasagna, but it's definitely a quick fix, and I think with a little doctoring it could be absolutely delicious! I'll definitely try this one again :) Here's the recipe...

Slow-Cooker Lasagna (from kraftfoods.com)
You will need:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese
• 1 pkg. (7 oz.) 2% Shredded Mozzarella, divided
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (I used dried parsley instead)
• 6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

BROWN meat and garlic in large skillet; drain.

Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

(I definitely think 4 hours would have been plenty- I left it in for almost 5 hours and it was a little burnt on the bottom on a few spots. I think putting a little more sauce in the bottom might have helped this as well).


As if I hadn't done enough cooking for the weekend at this point, I decided to use the ripe bananas we had to make banana muffins last night. We had 7 bananas that needed used, so I doubled the recipe. The recipe I used was actually for Banana Bread, but I wanted to make muffins so that Brett could easily take the extras to football today. I pretty much followed the recipe to the T, except of course I used muffin tins (with paper cups in them) instead of a loaf pan, and I only cooked them for about 25 minutes. They are to die for...not too sweet, but have tons of great banana flavor. I think this is my new go-to Banana Bread (or muffin) recipe!

Banana Bread (or muffins) (from "Baking Illustrated")

You will need:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour,plus more for dusting the pan
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
• 6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out the excess. (or, put paper muffin cups in muffin pan. I doubled the recipe and came out with about 30 muffins, so a regular batch would probably yield 12-15 muffins).

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.

Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl.

Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. (or fill muffin cups- I filled them about 3/4 full).

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (For muffins, I baked for 25 minutes, let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then removed from the pan to cool completely.)