Slow Cooker Sausage and Squash Lasagna

Ingredients

• 0.3 cup asiago cheese divided grated
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 1 cup chicken stock see unsalted (such as Swanson)
• 1 cup fontina shredded divided
• 0.5 cup basil leaves fresh chopped
• 2 tablespoons chives fresh divided chopped
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley fresh divided chopped
• 6  garlic cloves divided
• 12  lasagna noodles uncooked
• 25 ounce lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as Dell'Amore)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 cups onion chopped
• 9 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese 
• 0.5 cup red wine vinegar 
• 12 ounces turkey sausage links italian hot
• 10.5 ounce mushroom caps stemmed sliced
• 1 large crookneck squash yellow cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 6 cups water 
• 1 large zucchini cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• broiler
• slow cooker

Directions

1. Combine ricotta, 2 tablespoons Asiago cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 tablespoon chives, pepper, and 1 garlic clove, grated, in a bowl; set aside.
2. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large skillet; stir in red wine vinegar.
3. Add squash and zucchini; cook 2 minutes.
4. Drain.
5. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
6. Add sausage; cook 7 minutes, stirring to crumble. Stir in onion; cook 8 minutes or until onion is tender.
7. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
8. Add mushrooms; cook 10 minutes or until mushroom liquid nearly evaporates. Mince 5 garlic cloves; stir into mushrooms. Stir in stock, basil, and marinara. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
9. To assemble lasagna, spoon 1 cup marinara mixture into the bottom of a 6-quart electric slow cooker. Top with 4 noodles, breaking noodles to fit cooker.
10. Layer half of squash mixture, half of sausage mixture, and 1/4 cup fontina cheese over noodles; top with 1 cup marinara mixture. Arrange 4 noodles over marinara mixture; top with ricotta mixture.
11. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup fontina; top with remaining half of sausage mixture and remaining half of squash mixture. Arrange remaining 4 noodles over squash mixture; top with remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce and 1/4 cup fontina. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
12. Preheat broiler.
13. Uncover slow cooker; sprinkle lasagna with remaining 1/4 cup fontina and remaining 2 tablespoons Asiago. Broil on middle rack of oven for 2 minutes or until cheese browns slightly.
14. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon chives.
15. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.