Remember the excessive amount of spinach and mushrooms hubby and I purchased? We continued to think of ways to use up the ingredients and we both were craving lasagna. Rather than cook up a full pan, we decided that we would use up the remainder of the veggies with lasagna rolls. Back in the day, RMatthea and I were chatting about how baking lasagna for two people (or one, same challenge!) can sometimes be a huge waste of food. Rather than cooking a large pan, I had told her that I like to cook it lasagna in bread pans, so we aren't left with a crazy amount of leftovers that we are forced to eat all week. By force, I don't mean that the lasagna isn't good, but we like variety and aren't all about the same leftovers over and over (sorry Daily Sweatpants, you know we aren't lovers of long overdue leftovers. But trust me, we aren't wasting any food!) Anyway, there is another way I like to cook lasagna so once again, we aren't left with a mass of noodles. Rolls - not only can you completely control how many you are making, they are as delicious like lasagna. And, if you get the wavy ended lasagna (please tell me you know what I mean by wavy), they can turn out very appealing to the eye.
I began to saute the mushrooms with some garlic in extra virgin olive oil while hubby worked on the pasta. Once they were tender, I added the spinach and allowed it to wilt, which takes no time at all. For these lasagna rolls, I used about 8 ounces of mushrooms (what I had left) and 6 ounces of spinach (once again, what is left). Removing the mix from the heat, I seasoned the spinach/mushroom mix with some pepper and nutmeg. Next up, ricotta cheese was mixed in while still warm. Of course, red pepper flakes give it a nice bite of heat, so that was added to the mix as well.
As mentioned, all of this was going on while hubby worked on the pasta. We love to make our own pasta (and hubs makes some delicious bread too) rather than purchasing it. He was rolling it out and cooking it while I prepped the filling. Nothing better than cooking with hubs at night!
Once the noodles were cooked, I spread them with the filling and rolled them up before placing them in a baking dish. I love that they are all different sizes, another way to watch portions!
For a sauce, I had some broth and melted gorgonzola cheese into it. A can of drained, chopped tomatoes was added before the mix was poured over the rolls. Topped it with some mozzarella cheese, the dish was then covered in foil and baked for about 20 minutes. Then, I removed it and let the cheese brown for some more cheesy crispness.
What kind of lasagna have you made lately?