Let's Talk about Lasagna Rollups

Today I am in the land of the living, getting over a horrible cold. That sounds overly dramatic, as if I languished for days with illness. Fact is it was but one absolutely horrid day, then afew days of feeling faded. Now I'm back on the mend. It hit me like a freight train – one day I had sneezing and the next I was a mess. Slept just about all day with wakeful bouts searching for orange juice and chicken noodle soup.

A tray of lasagna rollups would be great to have in the freezer for such emergencies.



So, yeah….all better now and I would rather talk about these lasagna roll ups and the necessity of having some in the freezer for “sick days”. This recipe comes from Ree Drummond’s latest book Dinnertime. It’s such a cool book – I love all the photos of her family as well as the yummy foods. This is one of her recipes she says freezes well and is perfect for emergencies.



I did not freeze any but shared half of the spoils with the kids. They never mind a home cooked meal getting passed off to them. Who wouldn’t, right?!



This is a cookbook I may buy (only $16.99 at Costco) instead of repeatedly checking it out of the library.




Here is the recipe and a few photos of the process.

Lasagna Rollups
From Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
20 whole Lasagna Noodles
Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 pounds Ground Beef
28 ounces, Canned Diced Tomatoes
8 ounces, Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Salt & 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Basil

Filling
30 ounces, Ricotta Cheese
2 whole Eggs
3/4 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Salt & 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Parsley, Minced
1 Tablespoon Basil, Minced
1 pound Mozzarella, Grated

Instructions:

Boil lasagna noodles until al dente. Drain and lay flat on a sheet of foil.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the ground beef stir it around, cooking it until totally browned. Drain excess fat, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Make the filling by combining ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil. Stir to combine.

To assemble, spoon a little sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch. Spread 2-3 tablespoons ricotta filling on each noodle, then roll them up. Lay them sideways in the pans Top with remaining sauce, plenty of grated mozzarella, and grated Parmesan.



Just roll them and place in the pan like this........



Finally you have all these fat cheesy rolls ready to be covered with sauce and cheese.



You can't add too much cheese, in my opinion.



If baking immediately, bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. If baking from a frozen state, bake, covered in foil, at 350 for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until lasagna is done.

It was great freshly baked and I can see where a few frozen rolls could be a life saver if you need a quick meal!


I am sharing this with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.



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