Week 14 : Spinach Pesto Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

26 ou pasta sauce

8 ou pesto sauce

24 ou cottage cheese

12 ou spinach

1 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

16 ou mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup water

Spread enough pasta sauce on the bottom of the Crock Pot to coat entire surface.  Begin layering lasagna:  4 noodles, pesto sauce, pasta sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Repeat this 1-2 more times until pot is full.  (I started with two layers total and let it cook for 1 hour.  Then I added another layer.)  Shake water in empty pasta sauce jar and pour over top.  Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

First, let's talk about the noodle placement.  I had to play around with this for a bit to make them fit properly.  Basically, I came up with this...place two whole noodles across the length of the pot.  Break two noodles in half and overlap them on the sides. (See pic below!!)  Easy enough.  I was a bit skeptical about putting uncooked pasta noodles in the pot, but they turned out perfect.  Next, the layers.  The spinach takes up a lot of room so the pot fills up quickly.  After two layers, I was full!  But, we all know what happens when you use fresh spinach.  You start with what looks like more than enough to feed a small army and end with enough to feed one or two soldiers!  Needless to say, after one hour of cooking, the lasagna had decreased in size and only filled up half the pot.  Perfect- add another layer!  (It is breaking the cardinal rule of Crock Pot cooking to lift the lid during cooking- it adds 20 minutes to cook time every time you can't resist!  However, this is worth the 20 minutes!)  I sprinkled some dried parsley on top just to make it look prettier.  (I also snapped a before pic because I thought it looked delicious and I know what cooked spinach looks like!) 

I came up with this combo after reading many different versions of this recipe.  It was scrumptious!!  I brought it to, yet another, ER potluck and the entire dish was empty!  I served it with the fam's secret marinated green olive salad (I could be disowned for giving the recipe away, but there are many similar online).  I am wanting to try some new combos with it though now that I know how great the basic was.  Mushrooms, sliced Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes, olives....