Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna

I love lasagna!! It is so fun to experiment with and try to make it different ways.  I also really like spinach and mushrooms so this type was right up my alley!

Ingredients:

12 strips Lasagna

2 10oz packages Spinach

2 8oz packages Mushrooms (I used them all except the five I saved for my eggs)

3/4 cup Pesto

2 cups Italian Blend Cheese

10 oz Ricotta Cheese, Part Skim

1/4 tablespoon Egg Beaters

1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 jar Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Sauce

1 can Tomato Sauce

 

Begin by boiling your noodles.  I added a little bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together.  I only boiled them for about 5 minutes since they would be cooking all day in the slow cooker.

While your water is trying to boil you can start rinsing out your spinach.  I did this to thaw it out and clean it before I could add it to the mixture.

Slice up your mushrooms and mix them together with the spinach and the pesto.  Then set this bowl aside until later.  This smelled sooo good! :)

Combine the ricotta cheese, Italian cheese blend and the egg beaters.  Once this is all mixed together you can stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Then set this bowl aside until it is time to start layering.

Finally you can mix together the spaghetti sauce and the tomato sauce.  I know I was not impressed with how many dished I had to go through to make this meal.

Now you can begin the layering! :)  Start by spreading 1/4 of the tomato mixture across the bottom of the slow cooker.  I used a liner and sprayed it with Pam to ensure an easy clean up.

Place a row of pasta on top of the tomato layer.

Place 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the pasta.

Top the cheese mixture with 1/3 of the spinach mixture.

Complete this pattern a total of three times.  Then after the spinach mixture is gone you can place a layer of pasta on top of it.  After this you can finish it off with the rest of the tomato sauce.

I cooked this on low for four and a half hours and then it stayed on warm for five hours.

It was a little overdone to say the least... I think it would be a lot better if you just cooked it on low for 5 hours.  Then I sprinkled it with the rest of the Parmesan and let it sit for a little while longer.

I also wish I would have saved some of the cheese for the top of the lasagna too.

It was really good but it would have been better if it wasn't so overcooked.

Nutritional Info:

8 Servings

WW Points Plus: 12

Calories: 374

Fat: 17

Carbs: 35

Protein: 20

Marinated Mushrooms

I love mushrooms so I was trying to think of a healthy way to make all mushrooms in the slow cooker. This did not turn out the way I had wanted. I guess I will just have to try it again in the future. This version is too teriyaki-ish for my taste.
Ingredients:
32 oz Fresh Mushrooms
2 cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 cup Splenda
1/2 cup Low Fat Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup Light Butter
2 cups water

You can start by adding the water, soy sauce, splenda, butter and yougurt to sauce pan and heat it to low. While you are waiting for the butter to melt you can begin washing the mushrooms and cutting the stems off. Place all of the mushrooms into the slow cooker.

Once the butter is melted you can slowly stir in the sugar until it is all dissolved.

Pour this mixture over the mushrooms.

I left my slow cooker on low for ten hours.  The house did smell great when I got home..

I'm going to use the leftover just to marinade some chicken!

Nutritional Facts:  (This counts all of the juice which you don't actually eat)
6 Servings
WW Points Plus: 6
Calories: 143
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 15
Protein: 11