good food served here: lasagna rollups

this was a pretty good weekend. we went to the outlet mall yesterday and spent the entire day there. my FAVORITE purchase was a fun sign steve bought me and hung in our kitchen. it is just perfect! as i was trying to be fancy and photograph my dish and the sign, he thought he'd be funny and this is what i got:

one of my favorite pictures to date, actually. it captures some of the things that i heart most. wunderbar.

so, these lasagna rollups are pretty yummo. i actually freeze these and they taste fresh even after being reheated.

this recipe comes from one of my favorite go-to cookbooks- better homes and gardens: easy everyday cooking. this is the cookbook with all of my post-it flags. ..we all have one! i use the main recipe and toggle it to my liking. here is my version:

ingredients:

1lb ground turkey (this time i used my costco pack- 1.25lbs)

1 medium onion, chopped

2+ cloves minced garlic

(the recipie suggests 1cup sliced mushrooms here...ew)

1 cup water

1 14oz can diced italian tomatoes +/- more if you want more (i used 1.5 cans)

2 6oz cans tomato paste

italian herb blend- to taste

fresh or dried basil (fresh! fresh!)- to taste

salt- to taste

12 packaged dried lasagna noodles

2 beaten eggs

1 30 oz carton ricotta

1 10-12 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

3 cups mozzarella

1.5 cups grated parmesan cheese

sauce:

in a large skillet cook turkey, onion and garlic until turkey cooked thru; drain fat.

pre-cooked. obvs.

add tomatoes (undrained), tomato paste, italian herbs, basil and salt.

bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat- simmering for 25 minutes.

it's impossible to not eat this while it's simmering.

in the meantime, cook lasagna noodles according to package. drain, rinse with cold, drain again.

filling:

in a mixing bowl- OR your kitchenaid mixer (hear the angels sing)- mix together:

egg, ricotta, spinach, 1.5 cups of the mozzarella and 3/4cups parmesan cheese.

assembling of the rolls:

lay a few noodles out for filling

 spread enough filling down each noodle, probably about 1/2 cup

roll noodles with filling (start from a short end if there is one)

place rolls seam down in a glass baking dish (i lightly sprayed mine with oil, you dont have to)

pour sauce over rolls

cover with foil and bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.

after 25 minutes, remove foil and sprinkle remaining mozzarella over top

bake 5-10 more minutes, let sit for about 5 before serving. sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top, serve with garlic bread.

note: after baking, i separate into smaller, freezable dishes for different meals. these are very filling, 2 at a time are usually more than enough for us (well, 1.5 for me). when reheating, cover dish with foil and warm at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.