Bree's Blog: Best Dinner - and I made it!

So I have to share with you the MOST AMAZING dinner I made last night for my family! I feel a little like Julie (from Julie & Julia) right now, blogging my cooking experience, but I just cant help it, it was so delicious!

I got the main idea for the recipe online on FoodNetwork.com. It was compliments of Giada DeLaurentiis. Of course, as with all of my cooking, I NEVER follow the recipe to a T. My dad always taught me to add ingredients, delete ingredients, change quantities, whatever, to make a recipe my own. Well, with the gift of creativity (and my dads simple suggestions), this one was a winner! I would love for anyone to try it themselves and let me know what they think! :)

Lasagna Rolls:

Ingredients:

Sauce:

4 T unsalted Butter
5 T all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

1 (15oz) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup (+ 4 T) grated Parmesan
1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 lg egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting cooking water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 T olive oil
14 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 jar of your favorite roasted garlic spaghetti sauce
8oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for approx 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce. Set aside (off of heat).
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cook the sausage in a pan on the stove.
Add a Tablespoon or 2 of oil to a pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, but do not rinse. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.
In a separate medium bowl, mix the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, sausage, egg, salt, and pepper to blend.
Butter a 13X9X2 inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface. Spread about 3 T of ricotta mixture on one end of each noodle. Roll the noodle tightly and place 4 rolls, seam side down (without touching) atop the bechamel sauce in the dish. Repeat until all noodles and filling is gone.

Cover the rolls with spaghetti sauce.

Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and 4 T Parmesan over the top of the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer.