Lasagna Roll Ups

The whole family gobbled these up. So yummy! I cut it in half and it filled a 9x13 pan.

• 20 whole Lasagna Noodles
•  Sauce:
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
• 1/2 pound Italian Sausage
• 28 ounces, weight Canned Diced Tomatoes
• 8 ounces, weight Tomato Paste
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Basil
•  Filling
• 30 ounces, weight Ricotta Cheese
• 2 whole Eggs
• 3/4 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Basil, Minced
• 1 pound Mozzarella, Grated

Preparation Instructions

Boil lasagna noodles until al dente. Drain and lay flat on a sheet of foil.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and stir it around, cooking it until totally browned. Drain excess fat, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Make the filling by combining ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil. Stir to combine. 

To assemble, spoon a little sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan OR smaller disposable foil loaf pans. Spread 2-3 tablespoons ricotta filling on each noodle, then roll them up. Lay them sideways in the pans (4 will fit in the loaf pans, or you can fill a 9 x 13 inch pan with the rollups.) Top with remaining sauce, plenty of grated mozzarella, and grated Parmesan.

If baking immediately, bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

If baking from a frozen state, bake, covered in foil, at 350 for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until lasagna is done.

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Leesa's Lasagna

When we stayed at Leesa's for the baby blessing she made us this delicious lasagna! My kids gobbled it up and I loved it too.

2 lbs. hamburger

1 jar prego 3 cheese pasta sauce

1 container cottage cheese

Fiesta blend cheese & mozzarella cheese

10-12 lasagna noodles

Brown meat and season with garlic salt and italian seasoning(I just eyeball it and taste it when its fully cooked to see if I need to add more)

Add the pasta sauce and cottage cheese.

Stir and keep cooking it all together on low while you cook your noodles. Once the noodles are cooked I get my pan and lay 5-6 noodles, then the sauce mix and cover that layer with the cheeses. 

Repeat the next layer and then put it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Thanks Leesa!

Baked Spaghetti

This is a perfect fall meal. It makes a ton, but it's great as leftovers! You could also just halve the recipe and make it in an 8x8 pan. From Taste of Home

These are the alterations I do:

1-1/2-2 jars of meatless spaghetti sauce

low fat cottage cheese

Ingredients 

• 1 package (16 ounces) spaghetti
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jar (24 ounces) meatless spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups (16 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
• 4 cups (16 ounces) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat.
• Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 10 servings.

Make Ahead Casseroles

Sorry no photos for this one! I have been making some easy casseroles because I am so busy after school teaching piano and getting kids to their activities. It's been nice to make dinner ahead of time and then just heat it up in the oven when it's time to eat.

Ham and Cheese Casserole- this serves 8 so I cut it in half.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine - 1 stick
• 3 cups milk
• 4 cups ham - chopped
• 5 cups potatoes - thinly sliced
• 3 cups cheese - cheddar, shredded
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 green bell pepper - chopped

Preparation:

Mix flour, pepper, and salt (omit salt if you think ham and cheese are salty enough, I do). Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour mixture. Cook over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat and cook until thick.

In a very large bowl, mix remaining ingredients with sauce. Bake in covered casserole dish(es). Bake in 350 F. oven for 90 minutes. Remove cover after first 30 minutes.
Let cool 15 minutes before serving. It's even better as leftovers.
To reduce clean-up, I suppose the sauce could be started in a stockpot, and then everything combined in that before putting it in casserole dishes. 

Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soft cream cheese
• 4 6-inch corn tortillas
• 3/4 pound ground beef or pork
• 8 ounces can stewed tomatoes
• 4 ounces can diced green chile peppers
• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, mild
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, Mexican style

Preparation:

Spread about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese onto each tortilla; fold tortillas in half. Set aside.

In a 1 1/2 quart microwaveable casserole dish, crumble the ground beef or pork. Microwave, covered, on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes, until no pink remains, stirring once. Drain off fat.

Stir in undrained tomatoes, undrained chilis, enchilada sauce, and cumin. Cook, covered, on high for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through. Spoon about three quarters of the meat mixture into a 2-quart microwave safe baking dish. Arrange folded tortillas on top of the meat mixture. Spoon remaining meat and tomato mixture over the tortillas.

Cover with wax paper and cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Serves 4.