Help me substitute in this recipe!

elliemonster2012

FI has this obsession me making chicken lasagna.  90% of the recipes I find are with spinach and a white sauce, but he loves red sauce with tomatoes in it.  I need it to be crock pot so I can have it ready for him when we get home from work tomorrow and this is the closest I could find.  If I was to substitute chicken breast, would you cook it first as they do with the sausage, or just throw it all in the crockpot? 

 

TIA!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian pork sausage, casings removed
• 1 pound ground beef sirloin
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
• 9 lasagna noodles
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella (8 ounces)

Directions

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook sausage and beef over medium-high, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Add onion, carrots, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, then tomatoes; bring to a boil, and remove from heat.
2. Spoon 2 cups meat mixture into bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Layer 3 noodles (breaking them as needed to fit), 2 cups meat mixture, and 1/2 cup cheese; repeat with two more layers (refrigerate 1/2 cup cheese for topping).
3. Cover slow cooker, and cook on low, 4 to 6 hours. Sprinkle lasagna with 1/2 cup cheese. Cover until cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.

 

 

mulan922

I would brown it first. It adds more flavor and I wouldn't want to risk it being raw and contaminating the other stuff since it will only be in the crock for 4-6 hrs.

TPOX

I definitely cook/brown ground meats before adding to the crockpot - for no reason other than it turns out really funky if you don't (edible, but odd texture). 

That said, I can't quite picture how you are going to incorporate chicken breasts into this recipe, unless you mean ground chicken?  

jackpackage

I would definitely cook it first. Are you using Italian style chicken sausage? I'd make sure to season the meat really well (I like fennel seed & red pepper flakes), since it sounds kind of bland as written (IMO, the sauce needs to have basil & oregano as well, but I don't know how well that would work in the crockpot).

elliemonster2012

TPOX:

I definitely cook/brown ground meats before adding to the crockpot - for no reason other than it turns out really funky if you don't (edible, but odd texture). 

That said, I can't quite picture how you are going to incorporate chicken breasts into this recipe, unless you mean ground chicken?  

 

I was going to cube it, but now that you mention it, ground chicken may be much better!  I have that KA meat grinder attachment I've never used...that could be fun!