Crockpot Lasagna: the Secret Ingredient

My Farmer loves the crock pot.

He likes when meals are cooked in one dish

so there aren't tripping hazards and towers when he comes in for supper.

He also likes a good lasagna,

so I set about to find the perfect crockpot lasagna.

There are a lot of recipes out there for crock pot lasagna,

so I tried a few,

gathered the recipes together

and combined what I like

with what I wanted changed:

one was too dried out, the other, too much liquid.

I also used some different cheeses for my final recipe run,

and my Farmer was impressed.

So here's how it went:

The ground beef, onion, and garlic got cooked up together in a skillet first.

While that was going on,

I got my cheeses ready:

mozzarella,  farmers' cheese (made by a local Amish woman), 

Parmesan,

and,

the surprise ingredient:
plain yogurt.

(Of course, if you do not have or want to use the farmers' cheese and yogurt,

you can substitute the same amount of Ricotta)

 These cheeses got an egg and some parsley mixed into them.

Once the ground beef was cooked,

the layers were put into the crock pot:

a bit of sauce,

some of the meat,

 4 noodles,

cheeses.

And then repeat,

in that order...

or similar

(sometimes I mix the order of the meat and sauce,

because I am a rebellious lasagna maker),

until you have three layers of four noodles.

I start my crock pot out on high to get it going for a while,

and then turn it down to low;

but you could just cook it on low

or high

and not be difficult about it like I am.

It is good to let it stand when it is finished for 10 - 15 minutes:

the noodles have time to absorb more of the juices this way.

I usually always try to get a finished product shot,

so you can see how wonderful it looks,

(or maybe not,

 as my sister informed me about my beef tongue recipe,)

but I forgot about my poor lasagna;

and when I remembered,

all there was left was this:

Maybe this is a good though?

Do you have any secret tips for lasagna?

This is part of my 31 days of blogging series.

Kellyskornerblog.com
Wearethatfamily.com
Bystephanielynn.com
Keeping it Simple:Motivate me Monday
Homemakeronadime.com
The Prairie Homestead: Homestead Barn Hop
Betweennapsontheporch.blogspot: Metamorphosis Monday

Crockpot Lasagna

A Race and A Recipe: Beef Tongue

"Come take a walk with us around the new fence."

We have been saving and waiting for the time to fence this back field

so we can utilize it better by the cows in the fall and winter.

 I love the view from up here.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

Psalm 91:1

That verse seems to shout in my head whenever I see nature that takes my breath away.

 It makes me thankful to look out over this spot He has given us

for this time in our lives.

"We want to race, Mom.

Come race with us."

"Tell us 'Ready, Steady, Go!' "

"Okay.

READY.

STEADY.

GO!!!!"

I love taking walks in the cooler weather.

What better way to follow up a walk then with the kids' favorite meal.

Okay, yes, I know this may sound crazy,
but my kids love beef tongue.

They've grown up on it
and they don't see it as any different than any other part of the cow
that we eat: hamburger, steaks, roast;
to them it is just meat,
very tasty, soft meat.


Here is how I fix it.

After scrubbing the tongue with a kitchen scrub brush,
I submerge the tongue in a pot of water,

and pour in some pickling spices and 2 bay leaves.


I then bring it to a boil
and then simmer it for about 4 hours.

It can be done in the crock pot as well,
on high for about 5 or 6 hours,
or on low for about 8 or 9.


When it is done,
it is taken out of the water to cool.

When sliced, the skin peels right off,
super easy.

The tongue is then sliced into thin pieces,
which the kids gobble up like candy.

We rarely have much left over with the three of them
and us two trying to get our share.

My husband likes his with horse radish.

I prefer mine with just a dash of salt.

The meat is so soft and tender,
it really can't be beat...






and that's a fact coming from a household of ready racers.


Thank you so much for your comments.
I have enjoyed hearing what you are having for dinner
and the recipes you have shared as well.

This is part of my 31 days of blogging in October.

Linking up to:
Wearethatfamily.com
Blessedwithgrace.net: Tempt-my-tummy
Aboverubies.net
Womenlivingwell.org
Kelly's Korner Main Dishes Link-Up.

Beef Tongue

Sneaking a Powerhouse into my Hamburgers: Can You Guess It?

My husband told me it was cruel of me to talk about that hamburger
the way I did in my last post.

It was the end of the day at work for him
and he hadn't had much of a lunch.

I'll have to make him some hamburgers this week to make it up to him.

Do you have any special tricks when you make hamburgers?

My hamburgers are a mix of my Russian Grandmother's meat patty recipe
and my own endeavor to sneak healthy ingredients into anything that will disguise it well.

(Healthy doesn't have to taste healthy,

if a mom/wife can help it.)

So here we go:
I usually use 2 lbs of our own ground beef
(this was from one of our grass-fed steer).

I add an egg or two,

depending on if the refrigerator is laying well or not.

This is where I take a side-step for health.

I've come to the awareness that there is a lot of junk in store bought bread:

cardboard has more nutrition than white bread.

My people are not too fond of wheat bread.

I think they'd rather just not eat bread at all.

So to ad some "bread crumbs" without bread,

I have switched to adding about 3 heaping Tbs. or so of ground flax seed

per 1 lb. of beef.

Flax seeds are one of those powerhouse foods.

Some of the things flax is good for:

  1. anti-inflammatory benefits in conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine   headaches, and osteoporosis.

  2. protection of bone health

   (if one is unable to get the needed Omega-3 from the necessary fish consumption,

    flax seed and walnuts are great at helping to fill in the gaps). 

  3. protection against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

   (In the colon, omega-3 fats help protect colon cells from cancer-causing toxins and free radicals, leading to

    a reduced risk for colon cancer.)

  4.  prevention and control of high blood pressure.

  5. providing comparable cholesterol-lowering benefits to statin drugs.

  6. lowering blood pressure in men with high cholesterol.

  7. providing beneficial fiber

  8. putting the brakes on prostate cancer growth

  9. fending off dry eyes.

10. working as a special protection for women's health:

      -protective against breast cancer while maintaining levels of hormones needed to protect bone maintenance.

      -helps restore hormonal balance regarding ovulation and menopause.  (Now who doesn't want that?!)

source: The World's Healthiest Foods

So you can see why I try to sneak it in where I can.


Some chopped onion gets added to the meat,

(add to desired liking or to desired tolerance to the resulting breath;

I added about 1/4 cup to 2 lbs. of beef).

Next I add the desired spices from my spice shelf:

1 Tbs. of parsley ,

about 2 Tbs. of kelp,

(I know; that isn't a spice, is it?

But the nutritional benefits make it another secret ingredient).

1 tsp. of salt,

and a dash of lemon pepper.

(Any pepper will do, of course;

I just like the hint of lemon).

The last time I made this recipe,

I made it into meatballs and sauce for our pasta,

but I use this recipe for my hamburgers, too.

Yum!
(with a silent, healthy twist!)

 *Practical Tip: ground flax seed is more digestible, and can be mixed in drinks or sprinkled on food such as yogurt, cereal or salads.

  Ground flax seed should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to maintain freshness and to keep it from going rancid.  In seed form, it keeps longer.)
  It is recommended that 2 Tbs. a day is a good amount to take for  nutrition.  Pregnant women should avoid eating more than that in a day:
"Several animal studies (involving rats and mice) have raised questions about the safety of high-dose flaxseeds during pregnancy - not for the pregnant females, but for their offspring. "High-dose" in these animal experiments has meant flax intake as 10% of the total diet, or about 4 tablespoons of flaxseed for every 2,000 calories. Although it is impossible to generalize from animal studies to humans, we recommend that women who are pregnant (or considering pregnancy) consult with their healthcare providers if they are consuming or planning to consume flaxseeds in these high amounts." 
source: The World's Healthiest Foods

Linking to:

Hiphomeschoolmoms.com
Atthepicketfence.com: Inspiration-friday 
Gnowfglins.com: Simple-lives-thursday 

Wordless Wednesday@ 5 Minutes for Mom
Living Well Wednesday @ Women Living Well
Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Cop
We Are That Family
The Thrifty Home

Raising Homemakers: Homemaking-link-up

Thegirlcreative.com 

skiptomylou.org: Made-by-Monday 

Theprairiehomestead.com 

themodestmomblog.com