On a roll with dinner...

So, even though I maintain that I'm not a good DIY blogger, I do have a little dinner trick to share with you.

I'd seen it on Pinterest (or Facebook, I can't remember which), I tried it, and it worked exceptionally well!

 

 It's making individual lasagna roll-ups, rather than the traditional layers.

I started with my favorite spaghetti sauce recipe (but you can use your own)

1 lb Italian sausage
8-16 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. Italian seasoning or to taste
1 tsp. basil or to taste
1 tsp. parsley or to taste
1 TBS. sugar

Brown Italian sausage, remove from pan and place in crock pot.  Saute mushrooms in sausage drippings adding olive oil and half the garlic. Add to crock pot.  Add all other ingredients, stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I had made the sauce previously and frozen it in gallon bags so they laid flat in the freezer.  I thawed one out to use for the lasagna rolls.

I cooked the lasagna noodles as directed and as they were boiling, I mixed up the cheese innards.

1 lb. mozzarella, shredded
16 oz. cottage cheese (or ricotta for you purists, but this is what I grew up on)
1 c. grated parmesan
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 egg

I mixed these together and then put them in my food processor and whirred it up until it was a creamy consistency--this made spreading a whole lot easier.

I sprayed the 9X13 pan with cooking spray, then ladled a dollop of sauce on the bottom and shook it around to coat.

Then I took each noodle out, put it on the cutting board and patted it dry.  I spread cheese mixture along it, using the scalloped edge of the noodle as a depth indicator (this was almost too much, if you can believe it--and I'm a cheese fanatic).  Then rolled it up and placed it in the pan.  I did this with each one until I ran out of noodles and cheese.  Topped them all with the rest of the spaghetti sauce and baked it all in the oven at 350F for an hour or so, until everything was bubbly.

There was enough for a 9X13 pan and an 8X8

Completed pan

Served with salad, Italian bread and a lovely glass of wine, this was a treat! I would say the output of work was the same for the rolls as it is for layered lasagna and far easier to serve and save for lunches. Give it a try!