Sunday, January 11, 2009

Lasagna Beef 'n' Spinach Roll-Ups


Source: Country Italian Cookbook

I love lasagna, pasta and pretty much any other Italian carb-licious meal. This is a twist on the classic lasagna dish and incorporates the servings into a roll rather than layered with noodles in the traditional favorite.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (can use 1lb and decrease from 12 to 10 rolls)
1 28 oz. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (Newman's Own Sweet Onion is quite tasty)
1/2 cup A.1. Original or Bold & Spicy
1/2 teas. dried basil leaves
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & very well drained
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded italian cheese blend or mozzarella
1/3 c. parmasan cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten
12 lasagna noodles, cooked & drained (make a couple extra for breakage)
2 tbl. fresh or dried parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In lg. skillet, brown beef over med. high heat until no longer pink (I will usually add a crushed clove of garlic here to add some extra flavor), drain. In a small bowl, combine the spaghetti sauce, A.1. & basil. Stir 1 cup of the sauce mixture into the drained beef. Set aside remaining sauce.

2. In medium bowl, combine ricotta, drained spinach, shredded cheese (save a 1/2 cup for topping), 3 tbl. parmasan & the egg. Spread lasagna noodles on a baking sheet or other flat surface to cool enough to handle and to assemble rolls. On each noodle, spread about 1/4 c. ricotta mixture. Top with about 1/3 c. beef mixture. Roll each noodle from short end; lay each roll seam side down in lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Pour reserved sauce mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and shredded cheese. Add fresh or dried parsley and cover. Bake at 350 F 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15-20 minutes more or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with garlic bread or a simple cesar salad and a nice glass of wine. Hearty and perfect for a cold winter's night. It's great reheated too!

1 comment:

Steenmama said...

sounds soooooooooo good and looks good too