A Taste of Italy

Happy belated Father's Day! I spent the whole day yesterday at my parents' house. I had had a busy weekend so I was grateful to be able to just hang out and cook dinner for my family.

Since my mom's birthday fell during the week I decided that we should have her party over the weekend. It just so happened that we were going to a wedding of a family friend on Saturday which left us with Father's Day. My mom made breakfast (biscuits and gravy, hash browns, omelets...YUM!), and I made dinner (lasagna roll ups). I even made an Italian Cream cake for my momma's birthday cake (I know it's a heresy, but I was sick of making chocolate cake so I suggested something different).

The lasagna is super easy, and when it's been rolled, it's even easier to serve (and you end up with just the right amount of food). One family friend brought a salad, and another family friend brought garlic bread. We also had spicy Italian sausage to round out the meal.

I doubled the recipe and wasn't too smart about it. instead of cooking one box of noodles at a time and removing them when they were al dente, I insisted on cooking all of it at once. This made quite a few noodles rip apart and become unusable. It still tasted good, but learn from my mistake and only cook one box of noodles at once if you end up having to double the recipe.

Lasagna Roll ups

Recipe from All Recipes, adapted by me

1 lb ground beef (the original calls for tofu)

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 Tbl Basil

1 Tbl Oregano

1 clove garlic, minced (use more or less depending on your taste)
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and drain. Allow to cool.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 5 to 8 minutes, or until just slightly underdone; drain and rinse.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together mozzarella cheese, spices, garlic, ricotta cheese, and ground beef.
4. Lay out a noodle. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on the noodle, then add a thin layer of sauce. Roll the noodle up, and place seam side down in a 13x9 pan. Repeat for other noodles. Use any extra mozzarella or if you have Parmesan on hand to top.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 30 min, or until hot and bubbly.