Lasagna Roll Ups

This is a nice twist on a fabulous dish.  These Lasagna Roll Ups are not just delicious, but easy to make and serve.  I love making traditional lasagna, but I hate the mess when trying to serve it.  When you make it this way, all you have to do is pick up each individual roll up and place on a serving plate.

Make sure not to overcook the lasagna noodles.  Keeping them a little firm will help in the rolling process. 

The homemade marinara sauce is really good.  This is a sauce that you can make for other Italian dishes.  Top each roll up with some marinara sauce then add mozzarella cheese. You can also add some more Parmesan cheese if you like, the cheesier the better.

The cheese is melted and the sauce is nice and bubbly, great dish!!

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground mild sausage meat

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

1-28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

4 ounces of tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, lightly beaten

1-15 ounce container of Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

1-8 ounce bag of shredded Mozzarella Cheese 

8 cooked lasagna noodles- cook until tender but still firm

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees F

In a skillet on medium heat cook the ground beef and the sausage meat until no longer pink.  To make the marinara sauce heat a sauce pan on medium heat, then add the olive oil, onions and garlic, cook for a couple of minutes then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper.  Set to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  In a bowl mix together the egg, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese. 

Set aside about 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Into the remaining sauce add the meat, and combine well.   Spoon enough meat sauce to cover the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.  Lay one lasagna noodle at a time on a work surface, and spread a large spoonful of the ricotta mixture, and top with a spoonful of meat sauce, spread it out.  Starting at one end roll up the lasagna noodle. Then lay the lasagna noodle seam down in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining noodles.  

After rolling up all of the lasagna noodles top with remaining 1 cup of marinara sauce.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes then uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.