Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Lasagna Rolls Ups

Yum

My Husband's Birthday Dinner Plate
 My husband celebrated his birthday recently.  I asked him what he wanted as his birthday dinner and he first said anything... then he thought for a few seconds and said lasagna.  We are a lasagna loving family so even the picky eaters will enjoy it.  I decided to make lasagna rolls instead of traditional layered lasagna.  I love the lasagna rolls because I find them much more manageable to serve and eat.  So the next time you are thinking lasagna... think roll instead.

Ingredients:
1lb of your favorite lean ground meat (I used chicken)
large jar of tomato pasta sauce (45oz)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced or grated
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp of brown sugar (to taste)
1 onion diced
red pepper flakes to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
1 bell green bell pepper diced
1 box of long lasagna noodles cooked 1 minute shy of al dente
8oz of shredded mozzarella cheese

For the roll filling:
8oz frozen spinach (defrosted & wrung dry)
16 oz or 2 cups of Ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 egg
1/8 of a teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg
salt and black pepper to taste


Directions: 
Boil your pasta and drain.  Immediately lay the noodles out on a baking sheet so they don't stick together. If you don't do this they will stick and you will have a hard time making your rolls.



Make the spinach ricotta filling. Defrost frozen spinach and wring dry.  Mix will all the ingredients and set aside.






In a large pan saute garlic and onion with some olive oil.  When onions are tender add the ground meat and peppers.  Saute until browned. Add seasoning and pasta sauce.  Taste for seasoning before turning off the stove. Once cooked set aside until assembly step.

Assembly:
Take each strip of lasagna and put some filling along the length of it.  Then roll it up as shown in the picture.  Place 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish (you will need one large baking dish or two smaller ones to fit all these roll ups).  Place the roll ups seam side down and arrange accordingly.




Spoon remaining meat sauce over each of the roll ups the cover with 8 oz of shredded Mozzarella Cheese.


Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Allow lasagna to sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve hot. Serves 6-8 people.  Eat with salad and garlic bread to make it a wonderful meal. Enjoy.








Note:  I few of you are curious about the garlic bread rolls...   I forgot to buy a loaf of Italian bread for the big dinner so I had to improvise. I just baked some store bought biscuits.  Then I cut them in half and just made a quick butter/ garlic powder and dried parsley mixture.  I put them back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the butter and become yummy.  They were really, really good. :)

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