Thursday, January 20, 2011

Crockpot Ziti




Now that I'm working full time, I love a good crockpot meal.  During our Countdown to 2011 one recipe (among many!) I decided to try was one for a crockpot lasagna pasta of sorts.

This recipe reminded both Frog Prince and I of our three cheese baked ziti recipe, and we loved the results.  With a crockpot dish, you don't get that nicely browned cheese on the top, but it was sure tasty!


Crockpot Ziti - From Creatively Domestic

2 C homemade spaghetti sauce
8oz whole wheat penne pasta
12 oz cottage cheese
4-5 oz spinach
6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
2-3 T Parmesan cheese

Place the cottage cheese in the blender and puree until rather smooth.


Then, add in the spinach. I used half of a package of frozen spinach - thawed and drained.



Spread 1/2 C of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a lightly greased crockpot.


Sprinkle on a few noodles.


Then, spread about 1/3 of the spinach cheese mixture over the top of the noodles.


Sprinkle on just a little mozzarella cheese.


Then, add sauce and repeat the layers.


I repeated the layers 3 times.


End with spaghetti sauce on the top and cover the top with cheese.


Cover, and cook on low for 3-6 hours.*  Check the dish after 3 hours and turn to warm if the noodles are cooked through.  

*Note: If you have 1-2 layers for your dish (i.e., bigger than a 4 qt crockpot), cook for 1-2 hours on low.  Cooking longer when you have fewer layers will result in overcooked noodles.


I used a 4 quart crockpot and this recipe filled it to the brim!


Just before serving, top with Parmesan cheese and allow the heat to melt the cheese before serving.



Serve warm.


The leftovers were pretty tasty too!


Photobucket

This recipe is linked to Recipe Swap Thursday, URS, Foodie Friday, It's a Keeper, Feasting in Fellowship Friday, Ingredient Spotlight.

33 comments:

  1. Yum!! I will definitely be trying this one!!

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  2. FABULOUS idea! Can't wait to try it!

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  3. Thanks for posting this! I'll let you know what I think :)

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  4. Oooh, need to try this! I've been really into ziti lately and I buy the ziti Smart Ones about once a week to eat for lunch. I bet this is a lot better : )

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  5. I love a good crockpot recipe. Will definitely give this one a try!

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  6. This looks great. I am having some friends over for dinner this weekend and think I may make this since I will be busy most of the day before they come over. How many adults do you think this would feed? There will be 8 of us total...I have 2 crock pots...should I get them both going?!

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  7. Look wonderful - crockpots are lifesavers!

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  8. I love that it can be done in the crock pot! Thank you for sharing!

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  9. @AJ

    This recipe filled our 4 quart crockpot -- and the two of us got 4 meals out of it; so that was about 8 people. However, we're not super big eaters.

    I'd recommend doing two crockpots (if they are small), that way you'll be safe. The leftovers are really good, and you can also freeze them for later too.

    If you have one larger crockpot (6-8 quart), you'll be find with one. Just up the ingredients a bit and fill up the crockpot.

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  10. Thanks for the link love...I'm glad the recipe turned out well! This got me in the mood to make it again since I have lots of pasta and spinach stored away!

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  11. @Rita

    I think that's why I love this recipe so much -- I almost always have all these ingredients on hand!

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  12. you made a lot! you should share some with me :)

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  13. I agree that crock pot recipes are the best! Somehow I find that coming home to a meal already cooked in my crock pot can make me feel more domestic than slaving over a stove! :)

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  14. I love how you blended in the spinach, looks so tasty.

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  15. I love ziti but I've never made it in the crock-pot. It sounds so simple! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. All I ever make in my crockpot is soups! Obviously I need this recipe to kick it up a notch!

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  17. This looks amazing. I just wish my spaghetti loving 8 year old would eat it! He doesn't like anything on his pasta but sauce and noodles, no cheese nothing. Grr. Maybe I'll make this for the rest of the family because I KNOW I would love it! Having it in the crockpot just makes it better!

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  18. Very happy to see a step by step here as I've been wanting to try this. And I Love that you added the spinach in there. Looks delicious!

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  19. YUM! I imagine that the pasta may have been a little over-soft...was that the case? Otherwise, I am all OVER this!

    Looking forward to reviewing some of your other recipes! Thanks for sharing @ Foodie Friday.

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  20. @MrsJenB

    Our noodles were not overly soft; they tasted very similar to when we make our oven version. We used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Penne.

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  21. Thank you again for another Great recipe!! We loved it!

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  22. This looks really yummy! I just got a crockpot for Christmas and I can't wait to put together a collection of favorite recipes. :-)

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  23. We had this last night, it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.

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  24. Love Love Love this recipe! Family says its a keeper! Thanks! :D

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  25. Just wanted to let you know that I've added your recipe to my online recipe box! :) This is a weekly occurrence now. Thanks for sharing!

    Living A Bona Fide Life: Recipe Box #4

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  26. I'm making this tonight! Yum!

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  27. I just made this but the cottage cheese and spinach wouldn't mix in my blender. I had to add the spaghetti sauce as well. I can't wait to come home later and enjoy it!

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  28. This is really yummy! I added some zucchini to ours as well. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  29. I saw this recipe on Eat at Home's pasta spotlight. We made it for dinner tonight and it's tasty! I doubled it in a 5.5 qt. crockpot and it was done in four hours. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Bethany! Thanks for letting me know.

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  30. Here's a tip...instead of having to blender your cottage cheese...store it in freezer...freezing breaks down the curds and when thawed is creamy

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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