Sausage Lasagna Rolls- First challenge of the new year!

Confession- there was very little cooking going on in my kitchen between December 24th and today.   We ate out a lot in that time period, sometimes due to necessity, sometimes due to tradition, and sometimes for celebration.   I was happy to see a new challenge be issued on the Taste of Home Cook's Corner community, I needed a reason to crack open the recipes files and find something new.   Even happier to see that it was a pantry clean out challenge.   I've been pushing around a half a box of lasagna noodles in the cabinet, and a half full jar of sauce in the fridge.  I found this recipe for Sausage Lasagna Rolls, and bonus!  I could use up an almost-past-its-prime lemon too.

I used the dried versions of all the herbs, and omitted the salt.   Confession #2- I didn't measure the cheese.  Life is too short to measure cheese.  The ricotta comes in a container, so I know that was 15oz.   The mozz and parm, I just eyeballed, more than likely a little more than generously.   Since I only had 9 noodles, I only made one pan of rolls.   I used about 26 ounces of sauce, about half a large jar, adding in a pinch of brown sugar and a sprinkle of each of the herbs.

The house smelled amazing, and both my husband and I enjoyed them.  I served them with Texas Toast, perfect for mopping up all the delicious sauce.   Thank you so much to Kali W for sharing the recipe.

(This is a picture of the rolls prior to going into the oven, by time dinner hit the table we were too hungry to stop for photos) 

                     
* Exported from MasterCook *

                          Sausage Lasagna Rolls



  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  12                    lasagna noodles
  1              pound  bulk Italian sausage
  2               jars  spaghetti sauce -- (26 ounces each)
  1             carton  Galbani® Ricotta Cheese -- (15 ounces)
  2               cups  shredded Galbani® Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese -- (8 ounces) divided
     3/4           cup  shredded Parmesan cheese -- divided
  1                     egg
  2        tablespoons  minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
  2 1/2      teaspoons  minced fresh rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary -- crushed
  2          teaspoons  lemon juice
  1 1/2      teaspoons  minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  1           teaspoon  grated lemon peel
  1           teaspoon  coarsely ground pepper
     1/2      teaspoon  salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Cook noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, parsley, rosemary, lemon juice, thyme, lemon peel, pepper and salt. Drain noodles. Spread 2 tablespoons cheese mixture on each noodle; carefully roll up.

Spread 2/3 cup meat sauce into each of two greased 11x7-in. baking dishes. Place roll-ups seam side down over sauce. Top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Cover and bake 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casseroles up to 3 months. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Cover and bake 50-60 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

Source:
  "http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sausage-lasagna-rolls?trkid=ZFB815"