Sunday, June 10, 2012

Lasagna Roll-Ups with Meat Sauce

So good and so easy!  I love the Lasagna Roll-Ups stuffed with the meat and cheese mixture!  






























Ingredients
Meat Sauce

1 onion, chopped
3/4-1 lb. ground beef 
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, minced (I used some from a jar of minced garlic)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes (drained)
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce (or make your own)
Salt and pepper, to taste


Filling

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded 6-Cheese Italian Blend
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 box lasagna noodles

Method

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Make Sauce: Place beef and onion in saucepan and cook over medium heat, breaking up mixture with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 1/2 cups beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Add tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes to pot with remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (At this point, sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)


Prepare Filling: Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, 1 cup 6-cheese Italian blend, egg, salt, pepper, basil,and reserved meat mixture in large bowl. Boil lasagna noodles according to package instructions, but just until al dente' and pliable.  Drain and rinse with cold water; lay noodles flat on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. 

Assemble Dish: Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Place several spoonfuls of meat/cheese mixture along the length of each lasagna noodle, roll-up and arrange, seam-side down, over sauce in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over roll-ups. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and 6-cheese Italian blend. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve.

Enjoy,
Mary