Serves 8-10. Can be frozen.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
12 oz pre-cooked sausage (I like Aidells Italian-style chicken sausage with mozzarella cheese, garlic and basil), diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz box chopped tomatoes (I use Pomi brand)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp chopped basil or herb paste from a tube
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
For the lasagna:
14 ruffle-edge dry lasagna noodles (do not pre-cook)
8 oz shredded low-fat mozzarella
2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
1-1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1 large egg
2 Tbsp chopped basil or herb paste from a tube
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Directions
First, make the sauce (this can be done far in advance and refrigerated or frozen): In a Dutch oven or deep stock pot, brown the beef or turkey over low heat (do not add any oil to the pot). Stir frequently to break up the pieces of meat and keep it from sticking.
When the meat is mostly brown, add the sausage and onion, and cook 4-5 minutes, until the sausage just begins to brown, and the onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
Then, add the remaining sauce ingredients. Mix well, reduce the heat to simmer, and cook partially covered for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and thickened a bit.
Set aside to cool for a few minutes, or make the sauce ahead and refrigerate or freeze. If you freeze the sauce, defrost it before assembling the lasagna.
To make the lasagna, spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
Top the sauce with a layer of dry noodles. Break the noodles as needed to cover the slow cooker insert.
Cover with another layer of sauce, approximately 1-1/2 cups.
In a mixing bowl, combine all of the cheeses (reserve 1/2 cup parmesan cheese), the egg, basil, salt and pepper. Stir together. Spread half of this mixture over the lasagna in the slow cooker.
Continue making another layer of noodles, then sauce, then cheese. Make a final layer of noodles, top with sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.
Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
Remove the insert from the slow cooker, and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.