recipe: vegetable lasagna roll-ups

taken from: Food Network - Ree Drummond

changes: decreased amount of mushrooms (from 24 oz to 16 oz, and used baby bellas instead), skipped yellow squash, subbed chicken broth for wine, added spinach, forgot to add tomato paste, didn't cook lasagna noodles -- let them soak in water while i chopped & prepped everything else, decreased amount of mozzarella (from 1.5 lbs to 1 lb)

ingredients list:
- 1 lb lasagna noodles 
for sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, chopped
- 2 zucchini, diced
- 1/2 cup white wine, or chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large handful of spinach
ricotta mix:
- 32 oz ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 eggs
- salt and freshly ground black pepps
- 1 lb shredded fresh mozzerella
- grated parmesan, for sprinkling

to make: 
noodles: cook the noodles according to the package instructions, then rinse under cold water and set aside until ready to use. OR -- soak in hot/warm water until ready to use (they should soften by the time the ingredients are prepped)

sauce: heat olive oil and a large skillet over medium eat. add the garlic & onions and cook for a minute. add red peppers and saute for another minute or so. add the mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach and cook for a few minutes. pour in the wine (or broth), and add the red pepper flakes, some salt & pep and stir. pour in the tomatoes and tomato paste. stir to combine, then simmer for about 20 minutes or so. stir in the parsley when removing from heat.

ricotta mix:
in a bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt and some pepper.

to assemble: in large rectangular baking pan, spoon half the sauce on the bottom of the pan. spread out noodles on a work space, and spoon 1/4 cup of the ricotta mix onto each one, spreading it evenly across the noodle. roll each noodle + cheese mix tightly, and place rolled noodles in the pan on top of the sauce. top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. bake immediately at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes, uncovered, until bubbly. to cook from frozen, bake covered at 350 F for about 40 minutes, then uncover and bake until cheese is bubbly, about and additional 10 minutes. 

(this can also be prepped in separate trays / loaf pans if freezing separately) 

recipe: lasagna

this lasagna recipe was the first i ever tried, and i have never attempted to find another it's so good (unless i'm doing a white lasagna, but that doesn't count : ) it's the World's Best Lasagna recipe from allrecipes.com. the key to it is the sauce, which is a great meat sauce on its own to just make. 

ingredients list:  

*Note: I recommend making this the day before baking and serving it... letting the flavors sit in the fridge and meld together gives it just a little extra oompf. just take it out of the fridge 1 hour prior to baking to let it adjust, or you may have to bake longer. 

***
so once again, this was awesome. love it. my dads uncle is off the boat italian, and really enjoyed it... enough to say it restored his faith in the irish (sicilians... not so much... but the irish are redeemed. you're welcome, world). i don't have any thing i would change on it, other than my sh!tty job of cutting it. it's almost a guarantee if you make it, you will not regret it. mmm 9 ********. 

• - 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• - 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• - 1/2 cup onion, minced
• - 4 cloves garlic, minced
• - 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• - 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
• - 2 (6.5 oz) cans canned tomato sauce
• - 1/2 cup water or red wine
• - 2 tbsp white sugar
• - 1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• - 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• - 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• - 1 tbsp salt
• - 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• - 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• - 1 box lasagna noodles
• - 16 oz ricotta cheese
• - 1 egg
• - 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• - 1/2 tsp salt
• - 1.5 lbs mozzarella cheese, 1 lb sliced, 1/2 shredded
• - 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

to make*: brown sausage, ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until well browned. add to slow cooker along with crush tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 tbsp salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp parsley. simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally (note: if i'm lazy, i'll skip browning the meat and just cook it over high heat for the first 1-2 hours).

in a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, and cook lasagna noodles until -almost- done. drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process, and set aside.

to assemble, spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce in bottom of a 9x13 lasagna pan. arrange 5 noodles lengthwise over sauce. spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. top with half of the SLICED mozz cheese, and 1/4 cup parm cheese. repeat layer. on top of the second layer, add 5 more lasagna noodles, then top with meat sauce, the shredded mozz, and additional parm cheese. 

cover with foil, sprayed with cooking spray. when ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. bake for 30 minutes with foil, 30 minutes without. let cool about 15 minutes before serving.