Aaron's Lasagna Roll-Ups

Oh dear god. These things were freaking amazing! I came home after a tough session at the gym to my favorite sight...my husband cooking. Usually I get a "what's for dinner?", but the whole house smelled of my great-grandmothers red sauce and spicy Italian sausage.

I'll give directions as best I can. Since my husband made it, I have to rely on his ability to recall information ;) He also forgot to take "ingredient" photos. Don't worry, I beat him a little for it.

~ Meat Filling Ingredients ~

1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot)
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp  garlic powder or minced fresh garlic
3 eggs beaten
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper


~ Red Sauce Ingredients ~

1 large cans of tomato SAUCE (you know...the BIG ones!)
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

~ Cheese Filling (& Noodles) Ingredients ~

16 ounce package of lasagna noodles
2 cups mozzarella cheese (1 for the filling, 1 for the top)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 for the filling, 1/2 for the top)
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic (powder or minced) <-- YES, WE LOVE GARLIC!!!


~ Directions ~

• Start your red sauce by heating a medium saucepan to med high heat. 

• Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low, cover, and simmer. It will be simmering for about 30 minutes while you cook the meat. You will be tempting to "taste" the sauce...try to do so only once or twice. It's good to have a bit of your "mouth skin" left before you eat. Can cause "hot-pizza-like" burns.

• Heat a skillet to medium to use for meat browning. 

• Mix all meat ingredients (use yer hands. Not only does it work better, it feels fantastic!) and mold into oblong patties (see picture).

• Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes. Check the inside to make sure they are done.

• Start boiling a pot of water for the noodles. These should be cooked until they are almost done. You want them pliable, but you don't want them to fall apart.

• Ahhhh the cheese mixture. Mix all ingredients in a bowl (isn't this easy???)

• Check your noodles. 

• Once all your components are done, place a piece of meat on a noodle and a scoop of the filling on top of the meat. Roll and place into the pan (see photo). We got about 8 in there but could have fit 10.

• Once you have the dish completed, add the sauce and top with the left over cheese.
• If you need to, put some extra cheese on it just to be sure. You can never have too much cheese.

• Put in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (175 C) for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Sorry for crappy photo quality but I took them with my phone and put them on Facebook so everyone could be jealous. Haha. Enjoy!

He was proud :)