Source: my momma
Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef (you can use more if you like, but this is plenty for me - Italian sausage would be tasty, too)
3 15 oz cans Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp dried basil (or more? I don't ever measure)
1 tsp dried oregano (same as above)
1 tsp garlic powder (see above spice notes)
1 tsp onion powder (ditto)
1 lb (maybe more) shredded cheese (I use a mix of mostly mozzarella and some cheddar, and again, I didn't really measure so this is an estimate and more cheese can only make it better ;)
1 box regular lasagna noodles (you won't need the whole thing, and just keep them dry/uncooked)
Directions:
Brown your meat in a medium-large sauce pan, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. While it's browning, blend two cans of stewed tomatoes until smooth (I suppose you could also use canned tomato juice - my mom always used home-bottled tomato juice, but I never have either of those things, so I blend the tomatoes). Drain the meat and then add the tomato puree or juice, tomato sauce, and spices. Let that simmer for a few minutes while you grate your cheese.
Add a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of your large crock pot insert. Cover the sauce with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles, breaking them up as needed to fit into the space allotted. Cover the noodles with another thin layer of sauce, and then a layer of cheese (you can be generous here). Repeat with another layer of noodles (broken to fit as needed - I like to switch directions of my noodles on each layer so if I went long-ways on the bottom, I'll go short-ways on the next layer, etc, etc), sauce, then cheese. Keep going until your sauce runs out (I think I can usually get about 3 layers of noodles). The last layer should be sauce topped with cheese.
Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours (or high for about an hour). (I didn't time it very well, but when I made this last I had it on high at 2:00 pm and the lasagna was done around 3:00 or 3:30, so I turned it down till we were ready to eat at 5:00.)
Enjoy!
Notes:
This is one of my all-time favorite meals. My mom used to always make it in a Dutch oven in the oven, but when it's hot she switches to the crock pot. (I love that it doesn't have to heat up the whole house.) I never made it for years because I never had my mom's home-bottled tomatoes or juice, but just recently I discovered the blending note listed above and it has changed my life. Haha. I'm sure it's flexible, so feel free to add other kinds of cheese or spices/meats you like to your sauce. I think they key is to keep the sauce a bit on the runny side so that the noodles have enough liquid to cook since they aren't cooked beforehand.
