Recipe: Lasagna Roll Ups

I am one of those guys who just can't help himself when he lights up the grill. Even if it is just my wife and I, I always find the need to throw a few links of sausage on in addition to the meal that is planned for dinner. The only problem with that is figuring out what to do with the left over sausage. Once sausage is grilled and refrigerated, it loses so much moisture that it is just not as appetizing as when fresh off the grill. With all the grilling holidays that have recently passed (Father's Day, the 4th of July, etc), maybe some of you have yourselves in a similar predicament.

I tossed about a pound of day-old jalapeno sausage into the food processor and turned it into ground meat. I also had some leftover tomato sauce in the fridge, and a craving for lasagna. After a little snooping around online I came across a recipe by Giada which I changed around a little to suit my situation. These little personal lasagnas can be stuffed with anything you might have in your fridge or pantry, just by using a little imagination. I ran to the market for some cheeses and was ready to roll.

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbl. Butter

4 tsp. All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Whole Milk

1/4 cup Gated Parmesan Cheese

Melt the butter over a medium fire then add the flour and whisk together to form a white roux. Slowly add milk while whisking continuously. Cook the sauce for a couple of minutes then add your parmesan and a little salt and pepper and remove from heat. Keep whisking until all the cheese is melted and your sauce is smooth and creamy. Pour the sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish.

Roll Ups

Ingredients:

1 pound Ground Jalapeno Sausage (or any meat of your choice)

2 1/2 cups Tomato Sauce

8 oz. Ricotta Cheese

8 oz. Chopped Mozzarella (I put mine in the food processor to chop)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

14-16 Cooked Lasagna Noodles

1 Egg

1/2 pound Bacon

1 box Frozen Spinach - thawed and squeezed

Directions:

After cooking your lasagna noodles lay them out on a flat working surface. Chop the bacon into 1 inch pieces and cook them in a skillet over medium fire until slightly crisp. Pour the bacon and the drippings into a large bowl, allow to cool. Once cooled add the ground sausage, ricotta cheese, egg, thawed spinach, and 2 oz. of the mozzarella and fold the ingredients together. Spread a thin layer of the mixture onto each noodle. Roll up each noodle with filling and place seam side down into the casserole dish with the bechamel sauce in the bottom. Pour the tomato sauce over the mini lasagnas and top that with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place into a 425 degree pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese on top becomes golden brown.