Mely Cooks Monday

Lasagne Roll-Ups
 

Tony loves Lasagne, and everytime I make one I always feel overwhelmed because it's so huge and it takes him days to finish the whole thing plus it's such a hassle using the oven and heating up the kitchen. So when I came across a recipe by PW for Rollups, I saw the light and I used it as inspiration to make my my own Lasagne Roll Ups. By the way, is it spelled Lasagne or Lasagna? I see it done both ways and I do Lasagne since it seems more legit. Right?

 

Los Ingredientes:

 

They're not all pictured, I guess this is why I'm not a food blogger but you get the point!

 

You will also need to hit up the Dollar store to pick up 6 of these handy dandy baking foil rectangles: They're 2 for $1 and they're perfect for storing and baking food. Then you toss them when you are done eating!

 

For the Meat Sauce

2 LB Ground Beef (I like 93-7 meat/fat ratio)
2 TBSP Olive Oil

1 - 28 ounce Canned Marinara Sauce (I used Trader Joe's and found it delightful)

1 - 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste

3-4 Garlic Cloves

3/4 White Onion

3 TBSP Parsley (You can use fresh if you want, I use the freeze dried stuff Lighthouse brand)
1 TBSP Ground Black Pepper
Additional Salt to taste

 

 

I love this stuff, just as bright and green as fresh Parsley without all the hassle and chopping!

 

 

For the Roll-ups

20 Lasagne Noodles

30 Ounces of Ricotta Cheese

drizzle of oil
2 Eggs

3 TBSP Parsley

1/2 TSP Salt

3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
plus 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

1 TSP Freshly Gounded Black Pepper

1 LB of Mozzerella Cheese (I used a Mozzerella and Cheddar mixture because I'm weird and I like the pop of yellow Cheddar color on my Lasagne)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add your lasagna noodles to cook al dente according to package directions with a drizzle of oil so they don't stick.

While that boils, finely dice your garlic and dice your onion, set aside.

 

Now heat up a very large non-stick pan or a medium size pot on your stove to medium high heat. Once heated, add your oil followed by your onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until they start sweating a bit.

 

 

Then add your beef...

 

While your beef browns, in a medium bowl mix your Ricotta, Eggs, 3/4 C Parmesan, Salt, Pepper and Parsley. Set aside in the fridge. Shred your cheese and set aside in the fridge as well. (You could use pre-shredded cheese if that's how you roll). Keep an eye on your beef stirring occassionally!

 

Once your Lasagne Noodles are done cooking, drain them and lay them out flat on a cookie sheet or flat surface.

 

 

 

When your beef is done browning drain all the fat and set back on the stove and add your Marinara, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, Parsley and any additional salt to taste. Mix and bring it all to a boil and let simmer on the stove for about 15-20 minutes.

 

While your sauce simmers, go ahead and grab your Ricotta filling out of the fridge and layer a heaping tablespoon of your filling onto each noodle and roll them up! Continue spooning (hehe) filling onto all your noodles and rolling up your rolls until you are out of Ricotta filling!

 

 

This would have been a good place to insert a picture of all the rolls rolled up looking all gorgeous and stuff buuut I didn't take said picture.

Once your sauce has simmered a good 15-20 minutes now the FUN begins!

 

Grab those handy rectangular foils and spoon a layer of sauce on the bottoms.

Then add 4 rolls into each tray...

 

 

Then spoon another layer of sauce on top...

 

 

Then add a sprinkling of Parmesan along with a healthy amount of Mozzerella on top...

 

 

Now from here I wrapped up all my pretty trays rolls and stuck them in the freezer for later use. I also made one regular layered Lasagne in one of the trays because I had a package of no bake noodles on hand. But if you want to have a tray now here's how to cook!

 

Stick one of your trays uncovered in your Toaster Oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Each tray will fit perfectly in your toaster oven should you choose to use a toaster oven. You can also use a regular oven at 375 but that's not how I roll on this recipe.

 

If you freeze these babies and want to bake straight outta the freezer make sure you bake them covered for about half an hour then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes.

 

Enjoy!