Crock Pot Lasagne and Warm Brie with Pecans and Cranberries

Today we have a guest poster! We’ve got two great recipes below from Stephanie O’Dea over at A Year of CrockPotting. Last year, she made a New Years resolution to use her CrockPot every day in 2008 and to keep a blog outlining her adventure. I’ve become horribly addicted to her site, as I’m CrockPot lover myself. I mean, come on… coming home at the end of the day with a hot dinner waiting is definitely up there on my Top 10 Best Things in Life list.

So here she is!

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Having company for the holidays? The crockpot is your best friend during the hectic hustle and bustle of the holiday season. You can entertain with ease because the crockpot does the hard work while you quickly tidy up or tend to last minute errands.

This lasagna meal can easily be thrown together in the very early morning while you are still heavily caffeinated and can feed up to 6 adults. The warm brie with cranberries and candied pecans is a family-favorite, and something we’ve proudly served at many get-togethers.

xoxo
steph

CrockPot Lasagna

Don’t freak out. I got all Deceptively Delicious and snuck in a bunch of veggies. You can be as plain as you’d like; there are no rules here.

The Ingredients:

Optional Meat:
1/2 pound of hamburger meat.
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground pepper

1 box of regular lasagna noodles (gluten free!)
3 cups your choice of pasta sauce
1 package of ricotta cheese
1 package of shredded Italian cheese
2 cups chopped mushrooms
3 cups chopped veggies (I used broccoli and cauliflower)
1 bag of spinach

1/4 cup water

The Directions:

Brown meat with salt and pepper in large skillet and pour in pasta sauce. Simmer on low for a few minutes, then put a ladle-full of sauce mixture into the bottom of your crockpot. Top with a layer of dried lasagna noodles. You’ll have to break them to fit, and little pieces will fly all over the place, much to the delight of small children and pets.

Smear ricotta cheese on top of lasagna noodles, then layer veggies, mushrooms, and spinach on top of the ricotta cheese. Add a handful of the shredded cheese and ladle on some more of the meat sauce, reserving 1/4 cup of sauce. Top with more dry noodles and repeat layers until crock is to desired capacity.

Mix reserved sauce with 1/4 cup of water, and pour over the top of your lasagna. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4.

Check noodles an hour before serving, and push the top ones down into the liquid if they are getting too hard or are curling up.

Warm Brie with Pecans and Cranberries

Mmmmmm, brie. My favorite Friday-night plans involve putting the kids to bed early and curling up with a yummy snack, a glass of wine and The Office reruns.

This crockpotted brie definitely counts as a yummy snack.

If only the kids would stay in bed rather than pop up every few minutes and force me to hide my snack under a couch cushion.

The Ingredients:

1 package of brie (a round would fit in the crock much better than the triangle. I realized that a bit too late.)
1/3 cup candied pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries

The Directions:

I used my little 1.5 quart crockpot. If you don’t have one, you can insert a corning ware or other high-heat resistant dish into your large stoneware. It will take longer to heat through and melt, but will work just fine.

Place brie in bottom of stoneware (or in my case with the triangle, squish to fit). Chop up candied pecans and cranberries and dump on top of brie. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2.

Serve with sliced apples and/or your favorite crackers.

Seriously good.