Lasagna Rolls

So I will get to our ski trip, but first I wanted to share about making lasagna rolls. These were a favorite meal growing up in my house, especially by my little brother. And they have come to be loved by my boys as well. To top off the fun, they are pretty simple to make. So when thinking about what meal to take and what to cook for said meal during our ski trip with family and friends they immediately came to mind. Knowing I could make them ahead of time meant less to worry about once we got to our cabin. Less work for me there meant more time to enjoy being on "vacation" and away from home. :) So I quickly volunteered to make dinner Thursday night and said I would bring lasagna rolls. It was a hit. Mark sauted broccoli, we made a salad and I brought up Parmesan, onion bread I baked the night before. Yummy! Anyway, I thought I would share the simple process of making them here. Hopefully my mother will forgive me for giving away her secrets. :) 

Lasagna Rolls

You'll need:
         box lasagna noodles- cooked
         1lb ground beef- browned
         28oz can of spaghetti sauce (or equal to)
         8-16oz (2-4cups) mozzarella cheese- shredded
         grease 9x13 casserole dish
        *see notes at end

I set everything within reach so I can easily assemble. I rinse my noodles in cold water and hang them over a bowl or pan to avoid sticking and allow for handling without burning my fingers. 

First I lay out my noodle on the counter or other clean surface. 

Than I spoon on the spaghetti sauce. 

Next spend on the meat and top with cheese. I tend to use alot of cheese. Which is why I tend to go through closer to 16oz rather than 8. 

After everything is on, you roll up the noodle and place in the pan. I can get three rolls across and 5 rolls down in a 9x13 pan. You could probably get 6 down depending on how tight you roll you noodles. But I tend to loose noodles in the cooking process and don't have enough complete cooked noodles to do 6 rows. I than add the rest of the sauce and cheese to the top of the rolls at the end. 

You place in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. The great part about this recipe is that you can assemble and then freeze. My mom is always filling my freezer with pans of lasagna rolls for us. I have to say I love it. For our trip I made three 9x13 pans, put them in the freezer over night and then let them thaw on our 6 hour trip up to the mountain. It was great. 

*Some notes you should know. 

         1) Feel free to substitute a vegetable for the ground beef. I have used cook spinach several times now. In fact one of the pan for our trip had spinach instead of beef.  

         2) While when cooking for a big group I use store bought spaghetti sauce, I often will use a can of tomato sauce and spice it up with herbs and diced veggies such as carrots and pepper instead. 

         3) 8 oz of cheese really should work for you. I just like cheese and tend to go over board. Luckily my family doesn't complain. :)