Lasagna Rolls/ 100 list #93

  I love those frozen lasagnas that people bring over when they are helping out with a meal. They are sooo tasty. So when I was trying to find recipes to make for my frozen dinners, I was pretty excited to come across this one. This is not an original recipe, I got it from another blog. But all the pictures are mine. I have to tell you, parts of this were super easy, but some parts were a PAIN IN THE BUTT! They did freeze beautifully and have a good texture when reheated. 

The Ingredients:

Béchamel Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch ground nutmeg 

Lasagna Rolls:

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

3/4 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces, and cooked

1 large egg, beaten to blend(Or two medium ones if you *cough* dad *cough* accidentally bought the wrong size)

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water (I used about 1/8 tsp of salt and it tastes fine)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

12-15 uncooked lasagna noodles

26 oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce

1 pkg fresh mozzarella 

  I find that it's easier to already have everything measured out and ready to go before I start cooking. That way I'm not trying to stir something so it won't burn while trying to measure something else to add in. This time making the lasagna rolls I did not cut the bacon before cooking it because I wanted to get "Cook bacon without getting burned" off my 100 list. And guess what? I did!!! But next time I make this (and there will be a next time... YUMMY!) I will cut the bacon first.

I had to wear oven mitts, long sleeves, a scarf, and an apron but I did not get burned!!

   I had never made a Béchamel Sauce before, so I was happy my mom was there to let me know it looked alright. It's basically a white sauce, it reminded me of the gravy in biscuits, eggs, and gravy. Basically, you melt the butter in a medium sauce pan on medium-low heat, then you mix in the flour. It will feel like you have a lot of space and very little stuff but that's ok, keep whisking until it's a golden brown (about 3 minutes) then whisk in the milk. 

  Turn the heat up to medium-high and whisk until the sauce simmers and thickens (it took mine about 5 minutes but the recipe I followed said 3). Milk burns easily so don't just let it sit, make sure you are whisking.

  Whisk in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper into the sauce. Pour the sauce into a buttered 13x9x2 baking dish. Buttering a dish is easy if you take wax paper and put some butter on it, then rub it all over the dish. :D Go ahead and taste some of the sauce, it's actually pretty good considering how boring it sounds.

  Beat your egg in a large bowl then add the spinach, bacon, ricotta, a cup of the parmesan, salt and pepper. I did not add even close to as much salt as they called for. I'm trying to cut down on sodium and bacon has plenty so I didn't feel I needed it. Cover (so nothing gets in it) and set aside.

  In a large pot, boil water (add salt to make it boil faster). Once it's boiling add 1-2 Tbs of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Put 12-15 noodles in the pot and let them boil. You don't want to let them get all the way tender because they will cook in the oven. 8 minutes it how long I cooked mine. Also, make sure you do not get the oven-ready kind of lasagna noodles. I would put in 15 (or even more if you have more that aren't broken) because it is a PAIN to get them out and you will rip a few. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 450 degrees right now.

  Set out wax paper on a clean counter (no really make sure it's clean, that way you can still use a noodle if you accidentally drop it on your counter). You will need more than you think, lasagna noodle take up A LOT of space. When your noodles are done lay them out flat on the wax paper. You can use tongs (that failed miserably for me) or a slotted spoon and fork (make sure it's slotted so you aren't dumping a bunch of water on your wax paper). This is the worse part of the whole thing, the noodles are hot and slippery, they tear easily, and it's very frustrating. If you can stay calm (no yelling at the noodles) and make it through this one step, the rest is easy sailing. You need 12 noodles, so hopefully you have that many survivors.

  Now for the fun/ messy part. You can admit it, the messy parts are always the fun parts. Put the spinach/bacon/cheese mix on the noodles. About 3 Tbs a noodle (or 2 heaping Tbs). Then, using your hands (because that's the fun way to do it), spread the mix on the noodles.

  

  

 Start from one end and roll each noodle into a tight roll. The noodles will be a little slippery, but it is still pretty easy. 

  Put the rolls on top of the Béchamel Sauce, seam side down. Some spinach tried to escape so I had to tuck it back in.The rolls shouldn't touch. It was a tight fit for me, but maybe my rolls were too fat. (I'm talking about the lasagna rolls, not the ones on me :D )

  Pour the pasta sauce evenly over your rolls. Place (thinly) sliced mozzarella on top of that. How much you put on is totally up to you. I like cheese so I added lots. Then sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top of that. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. I had to add toothpicks so that my foil did not touch my cheese. 

  Bake for 20 minutes and then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

 Yummy, you know you want to reach into your computer and grab some. Look at how melty and awesome it looks in the middle. Look at that cheese on top. Lean over and smell yours... doesn't that make you happy? Unfortunately, you have to let it sit for 10 minutes before you can eat it.  

   I let mine cool and transferred them into plastic containers. I now have 5 (My mom and I ate some after making it) meals to eat at a later date. Later I added some frozen veggies to the meal. Because of the cheese, this meal was the most expensive one I made, but it still only came out to $2.53 a meal. And it is so very good. The bacon adds a whole new flavor to the lasagna. I HIGHLY recommend this to EVERYONE! Unless you are the 'burn water' type of cook, you should be able to make this.