Slow Cooker Stuffed Bell Peppers

We love stuffed green bell peppers and usually I will buy the frozen Stouffer's stuffed bell peppers.  Usually only 4 come to a package and that is not enough for us.  I was telling my Mom about it and she gave me a recipe which she had never used.  It was so good that I had to post it here and it didn't cost a lot to make. I think next time I will get a little creative with it and use green, red and yellow bell peppers. 

• 6-8 large bell peppers
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 large onion
• 1 cup Uncle Ben's Ready Rice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Light brown ground beef ; drain.  
2. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
3. Gently pack into peppers which have been capped and seeded.
4. Spray slow cooker with a nonstick spray and place peppers in slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook on low 9 to 11 hours or high 5 to 6 hours.
6. The last hour add Mozzarella cheese to the peppers.

Note:  This recipe calls for cooked rice but I chose to use Uncle Ben's Ready Rice because it only takes 90 seconds in the microwave and Ta-Da....Cooked rice!  I also used McCormick's onion flakes instead of an onion.  I didn't measure the onion flakes, I just put as much as I thought was needed.  I also cooked our peppers on low for about 9 hours and they were perfect.  This was served with Twice Baked Potatoes and garlic bread.  Yummy!

Slow Cooker Lasagne

                                                                       

This is the best lasagne recipe I've ever had and would highly recommend it to everyone.  It's very easy to make using no-cook lasagna noodles.  We like it accompanied with either Parmesan bread or garlic cheese toast.

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 package (8 ounces) no-cook lasagna noodles
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) small-curd cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
2. Spread a fourth of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5-qt. slow cooker.  Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles if necessary).  Combine the cheeses;  spoon a third of the mixture over the noodles.  Repeat layers twice.  Top with remaining meat sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.

 Optional:  Instead of using an onion, I use McCormick's chopped onions and if I don't have any garlic cloves handy, I will use McCormick's garlic salt or powder.  The recipe calls for the meat sauce to be the top layer and usually if I have any of the cheese mixture left over, I will sprinkle it on top of the meat sauce.