Preparation

1. Place ground beef in a large skillet and season with salt and pepper. Crumble and cook until fully browned. Drain grease and set aside.
2. Add cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to a medium sized bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside.
3. Pour half a jar of marinara in the bottom of the slow cooker and spread to the edges.
4. Sprinkle half the (uncooked) pasta on top of the sauce and then pour the remaining half a jar of sauce over the pasta.
5. Fill the empty sauce jar with water and pour half of it over the contents of the slow cooker.
6. Sprinkle on half of the ground beef, then spoon all of the cream mixture over top in an even layer.
7. Layer on the remaining pasta, then pour the second jar of marinara over the top.
8. Gently pour the remaining half jar of water over top and finish off with a layer of the remaining ground beef.
9. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 2.5 hours. Test if pasta is fully cooked, if not cook for another 30 minutes.
10. Once fully cooked, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top. Cover again and cook until cheese is melted (about 20 minutes).
11. Scoop from slow cooker to serve. Make sure to get all the layers in each scoop!