Clean Eating Crockpot Lasagna

Lately I've been trying to cook a 2-night meal on Sunday nights, so we can eat the leftovers on Monday. More often than not, they end up being crockpot meals.

I have done a ton of research on clean crockpot meals, and incorporating several recipes, I put together my own Clean Eating Crockpot Lasagna recipe. Trust me when I say, it's phenomenal. It takes about 20 minutes to prep and 4 hours to cook in the slow cooker. It serves about 6 people, but since my husband usually eats 2 helpings, it only lasts us two dinners :)

Ingredients:
1/2 package of whole grain or whole wheat uncooked lasagna noodles (I used Ronzoni Whole Grain)
1 package of lean turkey
1 jar of all natural tomato sauce
2.5 cups of part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
15 oz container of part skim ricotta (you can substitute cottage cheese for this, but since I'm pregnant and can't find pasteurized cottage cheese, I went back to using ricotta)
1 package of mushrooms
3 cups of spinach
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1. Brown the turkey, mixing in garlic and red pepper flakes
2. While meat is browning, mix the ricotta with 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese
3. Once meat is brown, add 3/4 of the jar of tomato sauce to the pan and stir, making a meat sauce
4. Line the base of your crockpot with lasagna noodles (you may need to break a few apart to fit)
5. Add a layer of the meat sauce on top of the noodles
6. Add a layer of the cheese mixture on top of the meat sauce
7. Add a layer of mushrooms on top of the cheese mixture
8. Add a layer of spinach on top of the mushrooms
9. Repeat steps 5-8 one more time
10. Add one more layer of the meat sauce & cheese if you have any left over, along with the rest of the pasta sauce
11. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top and cook in crockpot for 4 hours on low.

You really can't mess this up. If your proportions and layers are off, it's okay! Trust me, no two lasagnas will be the same. As I'm typing this, I'm finishing my 2nd bowl of this lasagna and my hubby is on his 3rd :) Once it cools in the crockpot I'll be putting the leftovers into tupperware for a fast, healthy dinner tomorrow night.

Enjoy!

Clean Eating Sloppy Joes

It was hard to find a clean eating sloppy joe slow cooker recipe...so I just made one up! They turned out delicious. So delicious, that my husband and brother in law ate them all before I could take a picture. Here's what I used:

Ingredients: 
1.5-2lbs of ground turkey, beef or venison (I used venison)
1 cup of all natural ketchup (make sure it doesn't contain a bunch of added preservative junk)
1/4 cup of hot sauce (if you don't like spice you can leave this out)
1 chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp of sweet pickle relish
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
8 whole wheat or multi grain buns (I like to toast my buns :)

1. Brown the meat in a large skillet. Once it's no longer pink, drain, and add to the slow cooker.
2. Add all other ingredients and stir well.
3. Cook for 8 hours on low (may very based on your slow cooker). This is a 'cook while at work' approved recipe!
4. Serve 1/2 cup of mixture on a toasted bun and enjoy!