Portobello Lasagna Rollups

Portobello Lasagna Rollups
Cooking Channel
The Line Up
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 lb)
2 tsp olive oil
12 oz portobello mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
4 c easy tomato sauce (recipe follows)
1 (15 oz) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
black pepper
pinch nutmg
1/4 c grated Parmesan
3 oz grated mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 c)

Easy Tomato Sauce:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes, drained, chopped
3 TBSP tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

The Game Plan
Preheat the oven to 375.

SAUCE: In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll-Ups: Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir 1 1/2 c of the tomato sauce, and simmer for 2 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, a few turns of pepper and nutmeg.

Spread 1 c of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 inch baking dish. Spread about 2 TBSP of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 TBSP of the mushroom mixture. Roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 c of sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with foil, bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Final Score:
It's been a while since I actually MADE this - but I remember that none of us cared for it much... it wasn't awful, and I'm sure that some of you might love it. I think it just didn't have the flavor I was expecting. With all the ingredients - it was surprisingly bland for our tastes. Not to mention that The All Star made notice of the mushrooms -- you MIGHT remember that the All Star is not a fan of mushrooms... and it had SPINACH in it, which he loves almost as much as mushrooms

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Slow Cooker Lasagna

We had lasagna the other night. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it before it had been in for too long and got a bit "dark". It's still edible and still tastes good, so I'll share my secret, just no picture of it (yet)... I just have to remember my own cooking times!

Slow Cooker Lasagna
8 lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
24-36 oz of your favorite marinara sauce (add sauce to make the lasagana how you like it... I like mine more saucy than "thick")
1/3 c water
1 (8 oz) can mushrooms (if desired)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
garlic powder (to taste)
1/4-1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
2 c shredded mozarella (buy a 3 cup package and use it all)

The Game Plan
Place 1/2 of the lasagna noodles in bottom of GREASED slow cooker
Brown ground beef in saucepan. Drain. Stir in Italian seasoning. Spread 1/2 over noodles in slow cooker. In separate bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese, garlic powder & shredded Parmesan cheese. Layer 1/2 of sauce and water, 1/2 of mushrooms, 1/2 of ricotta cheese and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese over beef.
Repeat layers. Cover. Cook on low 5 hours.

Coach's Post Game Conference
I play with the recipe a bit each time I make it. The original recipe didn't have the egg, garlic powder & Parmesan cheese... just a layer of ricotta. I like this addition! I also mix and match the meat. Sometimes I use all ground beef, some times I use ground Italian sausage, sometimes it's ground turkey... sometimes it's a combination of any of the above. It's all up to you.
The most important thing I would like to point out is this: You do NOT need to boil the noodles before making this and you do NOT need to pay extra for the no-boil noodles! Just get regular lasagna noodles, it turns out perfect! (well... unless you cook it on HIGH for 6 hours like I did this week!)

Final Score
Coach -  Home Run (when I make it right!)
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run - he claims to be Garfield... he LOVES lasagna!

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Lasagna Blanca

This recipe caught my eye while I was looking through Better Homes & Garden's One Dish Dinner recipe book from 2004.

Lasagna Blanca
The line up:
1 lb spicy pork sausage
1/2 c chopped green onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 c low fat cottage cheese
1/2 of an 8 oz pkg reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 (17 oz) pkg frozen no-boil lasagna noodles, thawed
1/2 c chopped fresh mushrooms
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP all purpose flour
1/8 tsp dried taragon
1 c milk

The Play
In a large skillet, cook sausage & green onions until meat is brown. Drain off fat. Stir in 1/4 tsp of the garlic powder and 1/8 tsp ground black pepper.
For filling: In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, 1/2 c of the cheddar cheese, remaining garlic powder and 1/8 tsp ground black pepper.
Spread filling over lasagna noodles, sprinkle with sausage mixture and mushrooms. Roll up each noodle into spiral. Place spirals, seam sides down in greased 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Set aside.
For sauce: In Small saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour, tarragon and 1/8 tsp ground black pepper. Add milk. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 c of the cheddar cheese. Pour sauce over spirals
Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Post Game Coach's Press Conference
I have never used no-boil frozen noodles. I use regular noodles that I boil in my electric skillet (perfect fit, and they stay flat) then let them cool. I don't know how many noodles are in a 17 oz pkg of frozen noodles, but I use 6 lasagna noodles, and it comes out perfectly.
The first time I made this we decided it didn't have quite enough sauce so when i made it the second time, I doubled the sauce recipe. I ended up only using about 2/3 of that doubled recipe and it was much better.
I forgot to put the mushrooms in tonight's lasagna, much to my dismay and The All-Stars pleasure! Though the flavor was still good.

Final Score
Coach - Home Run
Catcher - Home Run
The All-Star - Home Run

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