Slow Cooker Lasagna

My lot love lasagna but it can be quite time consuming to make so I was keen to attempt it in the slow cooker. The final result was certainly tasty but there is no doubt the traditional oven method is better, however the simplicity and ease of using a slow cooker, especially in the caravan, does make this lasagna a winner and we will be making it again. It's a dish that will evolve over time as we try different ingredients, cheeses and timings. If you do give it a go please let me know how you get on and any ingredient changes you make. As it is tweaked I think it will get better and better.

Ingredients:

800g Mince Beef
1x Red pepper, finely diced
2x Onions, finely diced
2x Carrots, finely diced
2x Garlic cloves, crushed
3x Celery sticks, diced
1x Beef stock cube
680g Passata
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tbsp Red wine vinegar
1tsp Mustard powder
1tsp Dried mixed herbs
2tsp Lemon juice
1x Handful of fresh basil, chopped
Lasagna sheets
200g Mozzarella, grated
400g Cheddar, grated
350ml Double cream

For the topping:
Cheddar
Parmesan

Method:

1. Brown the mince either in a frying pan or like I do in the oven. Break the mince up in an oven tray and roast on gas mark 6 for 45 minutes, but every 15 minutes or so remove the mince and break it up with a wooden spoon. The idea is to get lovely browned grains of mince and all the water evaporated. When browned allow to cool.
2. Mix the meat in a bowl with all the veg, herbs, sauces and spices.
3. In a separate bowl combine the mozzarella, cheddar and cream.
4. In the slow cooker layer the meat sauce, lasagna sheets then cheese sauce and keep repeating until all gone. The top should be meat sauce for the slow cooking but top with grated cheddar and parmesan half an hour before serving. Cook on low for a total of 4-5 hours.

Longleat Slow Cooker Pork and Bacon

After spending a chilly winters day in Longleat Safari Park and Festival of Light, the thought of returning to the cosy van with a slow cooker stew waiting to be dished up was simply divine. No cooking needed to be done as this stew has enough veggies, proteins and carbs in it so it was just a case of fill up a bowl and tuck in.

Ingredients:

750g Stewing pork
4x Rashers smoked back bacon, chopped
150g Baby button mushrooms
1x Onion, diced
1x Red pepper, chopped
1x green pepper, chopped
1x garlic clove, crushed
6x Shallots, peeled
300g Mini carrots, peeled
600g Potatoes, peeled and chopped into equal sizes
1x Parsnip, peeled and chopped
1/2 Celeriac, peeled and chopped
300g Broth mix (pearl barley, lentils, etc)
1tsp Dried mixed herbs
1tsp Caraway seeds
1tsp Smoked paprika
1x Bay leaf
2L Stock, hot
2x Slices of bread


Method:

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper then brown in batches in a frying pan and add to the slow cooker.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients and cover with the hot stock (you might not need it all). Top with the slices of bread and cook on low for 10 hours.
3. Stir well and dish up!

Tip:
Adding slices of bread to the top of a casserole works as a thickening agent. the bread slowly melts into the stew and thickens it. I learned about this tip from the Belgium recipe of Stoofvlees.