Lasagna Rolls
Best way to make lasagna by far! It lets you control the portions better and great to freeze! This is a full recipe so cut it down if needed!
1 lb each of lean ground beef, ground turkey, lean italian sausage
1-2 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained (the one in the box is better, add more or less depending on your taste)
1-2 cans spaghetti sauce (home made or bottled, you need at least the equivalent of 1 bottle) plus any for pouring on later
16 lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 C shredded italian cheese blend + 1/2 C same blend, set aside
1/2 medium/large onion, fine chop
3 tbs minced garlic
2 eggs, beaten slightly
Italian Seasoning, ground pepper, garlic salt, garlic powder (keep on hand)
1. At least a couple hours before you make your rolls, you need to make your cheese mixture so that the flavors can settle into the cheese. Mix ricotta, 2 C italian cheese blend into a large bowl. if you can do this in a tupperware with a lid it will save an extra dish. I say large because you will be adding the meat to it later. Add at least 1 tbsp each of italian seasoning, ground pepper and garlic powder (the cheese will have enough salt in it, so you don't have to add more) Taste to see if you can taste anything other than cheese. If not, add more, a little bit at a time, tasting all the while. Once you have a good taste (not just cheese, but a hint of everything else) add your eggs and blend well. Cover and refridgerate.
2. To make meat: add onion and garlic to a hot pan with oil. When the pan is aromatic, add meats and brown. When meat is brown, add garlic salt, pepper and italian seasoning. I usually have a dusting of the entire surface of the meat the first go round. Stir and taste. If you dont taste the spices, add more of each until there is a faint taste. Then add your spinach. Mix well with the meat. Then spice and taste again. Repeat until its as tasty as you want it to be. Remove meat from oil and move to a collander to drain excess fat and juices.
4. Assembly - make your lasagna noodles al dente, because you will be cooking them again. Keep them moist so that they do not stick together while you are rolling. Get your cheese mix from the fridge and incorporate the meat mixture into it. I didn't put all my meat in there b/c I wanted to save some for the sauce to pour onto the lasagna later. Get one lasagna noodle and lay it on a clean surface (i used a cutting board). Spead as much filling as you want on the noodle - the more filling, the fatter the roll. Just be sure your roll will not be too far over the top of your baking dish. Leave about 1/2 an inch from the end because your filling will expand. Place into baking dish seam side down. Repeat with rest of noodles until mixture is gone. Surround rolls with spaghetti sauce near to the brim of the dish.
5. Cover with foil (poke holes for ventilation) and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and add 1/2 c shredded cheese to the top. Broil until cheese is melted and lightly brown. While this was cooking I heated up some more sauce and added the meat (not filling mixture) to the sauce to give it a little extra taste. Let that boil/simmer until you're ready to serve. Serve with your favorite salad, garlic bread and good wine or Sangria!
The key to this recipe is tasting the food all the way through. This will ensure maximum taste... you see chefs on TV doing it all the time - just make sure its safe - like tasting the cheese before adding the egg... :-).... I'll try to find a pic, but we were so busy eating, that I forgot to take one.
Happy eating!
Bourbon Chicken
You all have seen my love for Pinterest. Found this recipe for Bourbon Chicken. Its pretty close to the stuff you get at the mall. Here's the link to the site: Big Oven - Bourbon Chicken. It is good the way it is, but here are a couple things that would possibly make it a bit better or easier to work with.
- Use chicken tenderloins or cut your chicken into small thin pieces. Would say about the size of an oblong silver dollar. I think the recipe says to cut them into cubes, but the flavor doesnt penetrate as well, unless your cubes are really little. If you are not comfortable with cutting the chicken, then cubes are fine, just do not make them more than 1/2 an inch squares.
- Taste your mixture before you put it in the pot. You can tweak it to be sweeter, spicier, etc, but you have to taste it through the whole process!
- Use the crushed red pepper sparingly. I accidentally used too much. Though the boys ate it, they thought it was a little spicy.
- Try to get something "creoly" to eat it with. Like red beans and rice from Zatarins or one of those premixed places. It could also probably be good in a wrap.
