Lasagna Rollups - Adapted from Ellie Krieger

I love a good lasagna. With pasta, and a good, flavorful sauce covered in cheese, what's not to love? I finally got around to making Lasagna Rolls and they were wonderful! I made the sauce the day before I wanted to serve this dish, to save time and let the sauce develop even more flavor. To make the rolls, the ricotta and spinach mixture is spread along each lasagna noodle, and then topped with some of the tomato sauce.

Then roll the noodles up and place in a baking pan. I'm not really sure if this is any faster than layering the lasagna, but it's still a great idea. These rolls are so pretty and pack a punch of flavor. The original recipe calls for portobello mushrooms, but my daughter hates mushrooms, so I used some Italian sausage instead. Next time I'll make these when she's not home because I love mushrooms! But, the sausage gave the sauce more flavor, so I was happy. The sauce needed a bit more flavor, but that was easy to remedy. Whether you use mushrooms, or sausage, you'll enjoy this dish! I hope you'll give it a try. Here's the recipe.

LASAGNA ROLLUPS

adapted from Ellie Krieger

Make the sauce first.

Sauce ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

about 8 ounces Italian sausage (original recipe uses 12 ounces diced portobello mushrooms)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes with juice

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, or, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh (I used fresh)

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

2 teaspoons sugar- my addition

In a large pot, heat the oil and add the sausage and onion and cook until sausage is done and onion is tender. Add in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about i minute. Add the canned tomatoes, and break apart. I like to use a potato masher to break them up quickly. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes. NOTE: If using fresh oregano, add it to the sauce the last 5 minutes of cooking. Taste, and adjust seasoning.

Other Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles- recipe calls for whole wheat noodles

4 cups Easy Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store bought marinara

1 (15) ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 egg, lightly beaten

freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 ounces grated Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain them and spread out onto aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking together.

2. In a bowl, add the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix well.

3. Spread 1 cup of sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

4. On each noodle spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce mixture.. Carefully roll up each noodle and place in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over the Lasagna Rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes. Now you have some delicious Lasagna Rolls! Enjoy!