3- Cheese & Sausage Lasagna Roll-ups

   So who out there loves Italian food? What about homemade lasagna? Cheese? Ok, ok, you can put your hands down, I get it. Well I am assuming that I am not the only one who just had both his hands, acting like a kindergartner who knows the answer to a question.

   I was cruising around Pinterest, and was flooded by all these lasagna roll-up ideas. They are coming in so many different styles and flavors that it was a bit mind-boggling! In the interest of maybe coming away with a new experience, I decided to try one. I must say, as a food lover, even the worst lasagna I've ever had was a good lasagna. So with that in mind, I embarked on this experiment, tweaking a bit here and there. All in all, it tasted like my normal traditional lasagna, just in a tighter and more compact size. The artistry you can get into it though, making it like a pinwheel once you cut into it, definitely earns points for style though. You can see me make it here.

Ingredients:

• 12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 lb sausage, casings removed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Red Pepper Flake, to taste
• 2 cups Ricotta
• 2 cups mozzarella (Plus more for topping, about 1 cup)
• 1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 chopped parsley
• 2 eggs
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Fresh basil for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown sausage and break up into small pieces, then cook onion until tender. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more, and season with red pepper flakes to taste. I used about 3 tsp., though I could have gone as high as a Tbls.
3. Mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, parsley and 2 eggs in a large bowl. 
4. Lay out the lasagna noodles and top generously with cheese and sausage, leaving a 1 inch border at either end.
5. Roll them up and lay them in a 13×9 baking dish that has a layer of sauce on the bottom.
6. Cover the lasagna rolls with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella cheese, and bake covered for 30 minutes.
7. Uncover and put under the broiler until cheese is starting to brown and melted. Top with fresh basil, if desired.