Crockpot Lasagna

I've had a few requests for the recipe I made last weekend, so here goes...

1 lb. Italian sausage or ground beef
48 oz. spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. lasagna noodles, uncooked
4 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 oz. ricotta cheese

Spray inside of crockpot with cooking spray. Brown the sausage or ground beef frying pan. Add spaghetti sauce. Combine cheeses in bowl, setting 1 c. aside. Spread ¼ of meat mixture in bottom of crockpot. Layer 4-5 noodles on top (depending on how big your crockpot is), breaking into pieces to fit. It’s okay if they overlap a bit. Spread 1/3 of cheese mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice more with the last layer being the meat mixture on top. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. In last 15 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle the top with 1 c. cheese. Let lasagna stand in crockpot with the lid off for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Variations:
• Add chopped onion and garlic to ground beef while browning
• Add ½ c. parmesan cheese to mixture
• Substitute cottage cheese for ricotta cheese
• Some recipes call for adding one egg to the cheese mixture. I didn't do that, but may try it in the future.

NOTES:
• I used an oval 7qt crockpot to make my lasagna, but I'm sure any size will be fine.
• I have a great turkey sausage recipe if you'd like to substitute ground turkey for the meat.
• I used Italian sausage and added onion to the meat while it was browning.
• I used an Italian blend shredded cheese and there was only 3 c. in the package. I added some parmesan cheese to it along with the ricotta. I set aside about 1 c. for the topping. It turned out yummy. Next time, I think I will use more shredded cheese in the mixture... more cheesy goodness, ya know!
• Don't forget to let the lasagna rest with the lid off. I missed that part and the lasagna was a bit runny. But, by the time I went for seconds it had set up like it was supposed to.
• I bet one could use those crockpot liners for easy clean up. I've never used them, but hey... who am I to judge. ;-)