Lasagna Is The Cat's Meow

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

My husband and I just welcomed a new member into our family. We brought him home and fed him and held him and made sure he felt safe in the new, big world. We felt bad leaving him at night, even when he was asleep. And the moment he woke up and decided it was morning, we were up at his beck and call.

That’s right. We got a cat.

I come from a long line of cat owners. My grandmother had a cat named Mama Cat. She was black and white and lived to be over 18 years old, which is a long time for a cat. Whenever we visited my grandmother’s house, the cat gave us two things: scratches and fleas. She wasn’t very friendly.

My Nana (what we called my grandmother) sometimes tended to be a bit absent-minded. She called my mother in a panic one time.

“I made lasagna,” she said.
“That sounds good,” my mom said.
“And I went into the cupboard to get the Parmesan cheese,” my Nana continued. “I found the cheese, and sprinkled it all over the lasagna.”
“That’s good.”
“And then after we finished eating, I realized that I hadn’t sprinkled Parmesan cheese on our lasagna,” my Nana paused for a moment. “I had sprinkled the cat’s flea powder on our lasagna!”

Needless to say, my mom freaked out just a little bit at that point. My grandparents were fine (they sat around for a few hours and then went to bed when they felt fine). The story is funny now, and I can’t help but remember it any time I make lasagna.

I was surprised to learn that pasta isn’t exclusively an Italian invention. In fact, a form of noodle was discovered in a sealed bowl during an archeological dig in Northwestern China. There is also an urban legend that the English invented lasagna, since there was a recipe for it published in the first cookbook ever written in England. But it’s just an urban legend (or at least that’s the story the Italians are sticking to).

The actual word for “lasagna” is derived from a Greek word “lasana” which means trivet or pot stand. The Romans took the word into their language and it became “lasanum,” which means cooking pot.

Even though today tomatoes and pasta are almost nonexistent without each other, pasta wasn’t introduced to its best friend, the tomato, until the 16th century. Spanish explorers brought the tomato (a new world vegetable) back to Europe. However, it took some time for the two ingredients to become friendly. In fact, it wasn't until 1839 that the first recipe for pasta with tomatoes was written. Once the union happened, though, history was changed forever.

I make lasagna occasionally. It’s such a big project, though, so it’s definitely a once-in-a-while recipe. However, when I discovered a recipe for lasagna in the crockpot, I couldn’t wait to try it out. Surprisingly, it was excellent. I might even venture to say that lasagna in the crockpot is better than lasagna baked in the oven. And so much easier, too.

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large bottle spaghetti sauce
• 8 ounces lasagna noodles
• 4 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 thinly sliced yellow squash