Penne Lasagna

1      cup freshly grated Parmesan

15    ounces part-skim ricotta

1      pound part-skim mozzarella, shredded, ½ cup reserved

for topping

3      teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

8      ounces white mushrooms, sliced

1½   teaspoons kosher salt, divided

½     teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

1      pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained until very dry*

1      large onion, peeled and finely chopped

4      garlic cloves, peeled and minced

½     pound ground turkey

4      cans (14 ounces each) diced tomatoes, juices drained, divided

1      can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

2      teaspoons dried basil

1      teaspoon oregano

12    ounces mini penne (or other small tubular pasta) par-cooked

5 minutes (until barely cooked), drained and cooled

cooking spray

Combine Parmesan, ricotta and all but one cup of the mozzarella. Reserve. Heat a Cuisinart® 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add 1 teaspoon oil and sauté mushrooms until golden brown. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix with drained spinach. Reserve.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil; sauté onions and garlic until soft, about five minutes. Set aside. In the same skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil and brown the ground turkey; transfer to bowl with onions. Stir in 1 cup diced tomatoes, and the remaining salt and pepper. Reserve. Combine tomato sauce, remaining diced tomatoes, basil and oregano; stir into pasta.

Lightly coat the interior of the ceramic pot of the Cuisinart® Slow Cooker with cooking spray. Using ¹∕³ of the pasta mixture, make a layer on the bottom of the ceramic pot. Spread meat mixture evenly over pasta. Cover with ½ the cheese mix- ture. Make a second layer of pasta; top with spinach and mushroom mixture. Cover

with remaining ricotta cheese mixture. Make a final layer of pasta and top with reserved mozzarella. Cover and press the on/off button to turn the unit on. Set time to 6 hours and press Low; slow cooker will automatically switch to Warm when cooking time has elapsed.

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