Pages

24 January 2010

Bella Notte

UPDATE: Got the computer fixed so now here are the pictures!

UPDATE: I tried to upload pictures for this recipe, but my memory card isn't working. I'm going to see if I can get it to load from a different computer tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. Many apologies...

Yesterday I spent the day baking cookies. What do I have to show for it? Several bags of cookies and not one single picture. For whatever reason, my camera didn't want to work. I was really worried that it was going to continue to malfunction when I was making dinner tonight. It worked just fine, and so now I can share my dinner with you.


Lasagna roll-ups are one of those meals that can be customized to your tastes. The original recipe calls for tofu, which is fine, but I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl (as you may already know) so we use ground hamburger instead. Another nice thing about this meal is that it can feed about nine people if you serve it with a salad (that's with two rolls for each serving). Filling and yummy, that's my kind of meal!


Now, when I make Italian food, I find myself wishing I was Italian. I mean, it's great being Irish (and Swedish), but we don't have an old family recipe for tomato sauce. There are no secret ingredients that I won't be able to divulge to you. There are no recipe cards written decades ago by some long-gone relative that has been handed down to the first born daughter of each generation. There's just a can or jar of sauce purchased from the grocery store. Do you feel my pain? Or are you one of the lucky ones with a fabulous recipe from the old country? Would you mind passing it along to me? I promise to treat it right and give it a good home in my hand-painted recipe box (thanks, Honey Mim).


Lasagna Roll-Ups
Recipe by All Recipes, adapted by me

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese (I use the big container so it goes further)
1 pound ground beef, cooked (we use the leanest meat we can find and cook it with minced onion)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry (I did not use this because I forgot to buy some)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
Italian seasoning to taste

  1. 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 (make sure that the noodles are just past al dente or they won't be easy to roll).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together grated cheese, ricotta cheese, beef, frozen spinach, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese.
  3. 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. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese (this time around, I did not use any of the sauce inside the rolls which made them easier to handle; this should make 15-18 rolls depending on how much filling you use for each).
  4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 30 min, or until hot and bubbly.

3 comments:

Sharon's Mum Anne said...

I can recommend a good Italian cook book for you River Cafe cook book. The River Cafe is where Jamie Oliver did a lot of his training and I bought this cookery book for Sharon and she and a friend ate at this restaurant when they were home to see their Mums in September. I've just checked on Amazon and it's now in paperback.
Just thought it might have a good tomato sauce recipe.

Sunshine said...

Anne - Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm going right now to check it out.

SpongeKim SquareFace said...

I sure wish you would eat again. It's been several days and no posts. Aren't you hungry??