September 2, 2015

Tigger’s Lasagna Rolls: Make-Ahead Printable Recipe!

Martie Food and Recipes make-ahead recipe, printable, spaghetti sauce, Tigger's lasagna rolls 7 Comments

I’m a huge fan of make-ahead recipes!  My work hours often prevent me from making a home-cooked meal at a decent hour, and I don’t want to resort to drive-thru’s or canned ravioli.  My family should not suffer because I have to work late!  Making delicious meals on my days off that I can save for work nights sure does help me feel like a super-Mom!

Today’s recipe, which I call “Tigger’s Lasagna Rolls”, is a family favorite…but especially for Tigger!  She is the only picky eater in our house, and, although I don’t cater to picky eaters, It does make me happy when she eats well.  Tigger requests this recipe for her birthday dinner, so you know it’s a favorite!  On her last birthday she stood at the kitchen counter with me writing down how to make this, because she said she wanted to be able to have lasagna rolls even when I wasn’t here to make them.  She hasn’t attempted to make it solo….yet!

Do you remember the “Million Dollar Spaghetti” craze?  Oh, I do!  That recipe was all over Pinterest for a while, and I made it a few times myself.  It’s really very delicious.  It seems every blogger out there has shared his or her own version of the recipe at some point.  You’ll see most of the same stars in this dish, but just done a little differently.

If you’ve followed me for long, you may remember my spaghetti sauce recipe...one that cooks low and slow, for as long as you want.  Yeah, we’re not using that here…unless you want to!  This is such an easy dish to prepare, once you get past the messy rolling of the rolls, because everything is pretty much made for you!

First, I boil a box of lasagna noodles according to the package directions.  After draining, I throw a couple of tablespoons of butter in the pot, dump the noodles back in, and gently stir that together.  This adds the yummy butter flavor and keeps the noodles from sticking to each other.

Next, I mix up a package of cream cheese, a container of sour cream, and a container of Ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl.  I put in about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan and a good few shakes of pepper.  No salt is needed, thanks to all the cheese.  I like to place this mixture in the fridge for about 10 minutes, just so it’s not as sloppy.  The noodles are usually too hot to handle anyway, so I tend to spread them out and hang them over the side of the pot to cool.  

This is the fun part!  Lightly grease a 9″x13″ baking dish, then lay 3 lasagna noodles out longways.  I spread a decent blob of the cream cheese mixture all the way down the noodles, then roll them up!  They all fit in the dish snuggly, three wide.

If you are making this ahead, stop here.  I usually cover it tightly with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge, then when we eat it the next night (I wouldn’t make it days ahead, although I suppose it would freeze ok), I pour on the store-bought sauce, spread it around really well to cover all the noodles (don’t want them crunchy), and top that with ooey-gooey Mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parm.  

Bake that sucker off, then throw this down with a good ‘ol salad and some garlicky bread, and Tigger will be eating like she just ran a marathon…as will the rest of us!  

 

If you want this to be a meat dish, by all means, add meat.  Tiggs doesn’t like it as well with meat, and Coach can put enough bacon bits on his salad to feel like he’s been properly fed, so I usually leave it out.  My homemade spaghetti sauce would also be delicious on these roll-ups, and I bet your own would, too.  This is just the easy way, which I need when I come in from the salon at 7:30 at night.

Here’s the recipe:

 

Tigger’s Lasagna Rolls

• 1 box lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled.
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 8oz sour cream
• 1 8oz part-skin Ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for sprinkling.
• pepper to taste
• 1 24oz jar spaghetti sauce (or homemade, if you prefer)
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9” x 13” baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, Ricotta, Parmesan and black pepper.  Chill for 10-15 minutes, just to make it easier to work with.

Lay your cooled lasagna noodles out in your baking dish, and fill each one with your cream cheese mixture.  Roll it up, jelly-roll-style. Place each roll side by side.  Pour the sauce over the messy rolls in the baking dish, making sure to spread it around and cover all of the noodles so they don’t get crunchy in the oven.  Top with Mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned and the dish is bubbly. 

Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread for a special Italian feast! 

 Click to download the  Printable Recipe: Tigger’s Lasagna Rolls!

Please let me know how my printable recipe turns out!  It’s my first attempt at sharing a printable recipe, so I hope you all have success with it.

Also, come tell me what you think of the dish itself, if you get a chance to try it.  My family loves it, and I love how easy it is.

Happy Hot-Meal-On-a-Workday!

X,O,X,O,    Martie

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