Lasagna Rebuilt

We love lasagna.  I make up a batch of red sauce, cook up some Italian sausage, grate my mozzarella and parmesan and, using no boil noodles, assemble the whole thing alternating noodles, sauce, cheese and meat.  Unfortunately even an eight by eight inch baking dish means at least one meal of leftovers.  That is until tonight.  Last week I was watching a show on one of the cooking channels and the chef was demonstrating a dish that had a spinach and cheese mixture spread on boiled lasagna noodles.  The noodles were rolled up and placed in a baking dish.  I thought, why not try this with real lasagna.  So tonight we are having lasagna roll ups.

I made my usual red sauce.  Then I cooked up some loose Italian sausage and let it cool.  Rather than using my usual no boil lasagna, I used regular lasagna noodles and boiled them until they were slightly more cooked than al dente.  They needed to be soft enough to roll but not so soft that they’ll tear.  I let them cool until I could handle them comfortably.  I grated some fresh mozzarella and parmesan and got ready to roll.  First I placed a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  Then I laid a noodle on my work area and placed some of the grated cheese and cooked meat on top.  Then, working from the short end, I rolled the lasagna noodle up; keeping the meat and cheese inside as I rolled.  I placed the rolled up lasagna into the prepared pan.  I topped the completed rolls with more sauce and additional grated cheese.  I’ll bake it in a 350 F degree oven for about an hour.   Lasagna without the leftovers!