Lasagna Roll-Ups

It seems that my last few posts have either been about daily life or recipes.  Today it's a recipe.  Will be back to posting more personal blogs soon.  

I have entertained at home quite a bit the past couple of weeks.  I love the fact that my apartment re-decorating (Design on a Dime) is finished; it just feels so much cozier and is perfect for having friends over!  I've used my visitors as guinea pigs for new recipes.  Being single and living alone are not a good combination for recipe experimentation on a regular basis.  This is compounded by the fact that I'm not a huge fan of leftovers.  But, I LOVE to cook, so have enjoyed having a reason to do so.

This weekend a friend posted a recipe for lasagna rolls on her Facebook.  They looked delicious in the picture.  I changed the recipe up a little to fit my preferences.  They were easy, very good and were a hit with my guests.  The individual rolls made presentation much nicer than a piece of lasagna.

The recipe lends itself to creativity.  You could add ricotta, Italian sausage, homemade pasta sauce, etc.

ADY's LASAGNA ROLL-UPS

8 lasagna noodles cooked al dente

1 lb. of ground beef (lean)

1/2 onion finely chopped

1/2 can of mushrooms drained and finely chopped

1 TBS minced garlic

salt & pepper to taste

dash of crushed red pepper flakes

2 oz. fresh spinach

1 large jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Hunt's 5 Cheese)

2 cups of finely shredded Italian blend cheese

1 large cookie sheet

1 regular pan

Heat oven at 375º

Boil water and cook noodles as directed on box.  Once they are done, lay them out on a baking sheet.

Season meat with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and cook with chopped onion, chopped mushrooms, minced garlic.  Once it is browned, add spinach and continue cooking until spinach wilts.  Be careful not to overcook.  Drain meat well.  Let meat cool for a few minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese and enough spaghetti sauce to make it all stick together.  Stir together gently.

Cover the bottom of a pan with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce.

On the cooked noodles, spread equal amounts of meat on each.  Gently roll them up.  They should be a little loose, or the meat will fall out.  Once they are rolled, place in the pan.

Top lasagna rolls with the remainder of the spaghetti sauce and cheese.  Cover loosely with foil and cook at 375º for 30 minutes.  Take them out, uncover and cook for 5 more minutes.  

Serve and enjoy!

*Note: I made these in the morning and refrigerated until I was ready to cook them at lunch. 

I served these with a Caesar salad and cheese garlic bread (Italian bread slices topped with butter, garlic salt and shredded cheese).  Easy and delicious meal!

Adding Meat to Cooked Lasagna Noodles

Rolled and Placed in Pan

Refrigerated Waiting to Be Cooked

Even Taste Good as Left-Overs