I don’t remember my mom making these growing up, but she made them right after I had Vi.  I was a tearful mess that day.  Between trying to breastfeed (seriously this girl is talking about breastfeeding and food in the same post…sorry!) and Andy’s extended family seeing her for the first time it was an emotional day.

You know what made the day a lot better? These spinach lasagna roll-ups. They’re easy to make and have just the right amount of spice to them. Why not make Italian in instead of trying to fight the restaurant crowds this Valentine’s Day? I used my homemade sauce with these, it is worth it.

The Sauce

Ingredients

Olive Oil, enough to coat pot

Hot Italian Sausage, 2-4 links kept in casing

Garlic Cloves, 5-7 minced

Tomato Puree, 2 large cans or 6 small ones

Dried Basil, 1 and 1/4 Tablespoons

Garlic Salt, a little less than 1 Tablespoon

Onion Powder, 1 Teaspoon

Pepper, 1/2 Teaspoon

Sugar, 2 Teaspoons

Red Wine, a little less than 1/4 cup

Chicken Bullion Cubes, 2

1/4 c. of water

Directions: 

Coat pot with olive oil on medium to medium low heat (depending on your burner), put sausage in pot and brown it on both sides (be careful not to over- cook), add your minced garlic to the pot.  Cook garlic for about a minute, do not let it turn brown.  Add your puree to the pot, add all of your spices and stir.  Drop the meatballs (if you’re making them) click here for meatball recipe. in your sauce, stir occasionally very gently (you don’t want your meatballs to break apart) and cook for about 2 hours.  Taste the sauce throughout, if you find it to be too sweet…add more garlic salt or onion powder…if you find that it’s not sweet enough…add sugar, basil or wine…make it taste the way you want it!

Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups

Makes 8 rolls

Prep: 10

Total: 30-35

Ingredients:

Lasagna Noodles, boiled and drained

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced and sautéed in olive oil

16 oz Ricotta Cheese

8 oz Spinach, chopped, cooked and well drained

1/2 Cup Romano Cheese, Grated

1 Egg

Garlic Salt, several dashes

Cayenne Pepper, several dashes

Sauce

Mozzarella, slices or shredded

Romano Cheese, to top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Boil lasagna noodles and drain.  Mince 2 cloves of garlic.  Add olive oil to a small pan and sauté over medium low heat for about 2 minutes.  Pour cooked garlic in a large bowl.  Add a container of ricotta cheese, cooked and drained spinach, 1/2 cup of grated romano, 1 egg and several dashes of garlic salt and cayenne pepper (I like a good amount of spice in this dish).  Adjust to taste.  Lay your noodles out and spread cheese and spinach mixture on top. Roll the noodles up.  Pour some sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish. place roll-ups on top of that and top with more sauce.  Top the sauce with a good dose of mozzarella cheese.  Bake dish for about 20-25 minutes.  This dish can stand alone on its own or you can serve with sausage from the sauce or meatballs, click here for recipe.