Lasagna Roll Ups

• total time: 1+ hours

Ingredients

For lasagna noodles:

- 12 dry lasagna noodles

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 teaspoon salt

For meat sauce:

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 lb. ground beef

- 1 tbsp onion powder

- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced

- 2 (14 oz.) cans tomato sauce (about 3.5 cups)

- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

For cheese mixture:

- 1 (15 oz.) package ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)

- 2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided

- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

- 1 egg, beaten

- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cook lasagna noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium high heat. Add lasagna noodles, olive oil and salt and cook until al dente (fully cooked but still firm), or according to package directions, about 10 minutes. Rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside in the pot.

Meat sauce:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan for 2 minutes over medium-high heat until the oil is sizzling hot. Add ground beef and cook for 5-7 minutes until browned. Make sure to break up beef into small pieces to help even browning.

2. Add onion and garlic. Stir well to combine and continue cooking until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add tomato sauce and stir well to mix. Bring the meat sauce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the lid and let it simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in parsley and set aside.

Cheese mixture:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, beaten egg, and parsley. Stir well to combine together. Set aside.

Assembly:

1. Arrange cooked noodles (6 noodles at a time) on a large half sheet baking pan in a single layer (Rolling up the lasagna in a pan helps reduce the mess).

2. Spread 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture evenly over each noodle and top with 3-4 tablespoons of meat sauce. Roll up each noodle tightly and it place seam side down.

3. In a 10x15-inch casserole pan, add and evenly spread 1/2 cup meat sauce.

4. Arrange 12 assembled lasagna roll ups, seam side down in the pan.

5. Spread the remaining meat sauce over and sprinkle the remaining 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese on top.

Baking:

1. Lightly grease a large piece of aluminum foil and cover the pan (greased side down). Greasing the foil prevents the melted cheese from sticking to the foil while baking. Optionally, you can put toothpicks into the rolls to create a tent with the foil.

2. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes or until the melted cheese turns golden brown and bubbly.

3. Optionally, turn the oven to broil and broil on high for 1-2 minutes to get the crispy and brown cheesy crust. Keep a close eye on the roll ups because things can burn quickly in the broiler.

4. Let the lasagna cool for at least 10-20 minutes before serving (to avoid it being sloppy). Serve with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley on top, if desired.