This is really healthy. No. Really. It’s a bit of a pain to set up but then you forget about it until dinner time–which means most of the day to get your NaNoWriMo word count done. 😉

Slow Cook Mexican Lasagna

4-6 Quart slow cooker
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or 93% lean beef
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 Tablespoon processed minced garlic)
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. low fat cottage cheese
8 oz bag shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided into 2 oz. portions
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
9-10 whole grain lasagna noodles (I use just regular ones because I’m a rebel like that 😉 )

Brown meat in oil, add garlic, seasoning, tomato sauce, and pinto beans. Stir well and set aside. Combine cottage cheese with half of the Mexican cheese and all of the spinach.

Layer in the slow cooker like this:

1/4 of meat mixture
1/3 noodles, broken where needed to cover meat
1/3 cheese mixture
Repeat two more times, ending with the remaining 1/4 of meat mixture

Cook on low for 5-6 hours, until noodles are soft. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top, cover, and allow to melt.

You can serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, and/or chopped cilantro.