Hi everyone;
Going to kill a couple of birds with one stone (pardon the pun there) and put a couple of really unrelated topics in this post.
Item #1 - Cooking part:
During the long weekend we got our pots and pans out and made an assortment of items - Chili, Sloppy Joes, Red Sauce and to use the red sauce, some lasagna rolls.
We have made lasagna before, but it never seems to come out quite right - so we found a recipe for Lasagna Rolls - instead of the traditional preparation. Pretty simple really and won't really spend the time on the sauce etc. but more on the filling and the prep.
For the 4 cheese filling:
16oz Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup each, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Asiago Cheeses (grated)
1 half package of Frozen chopped Spinach (thawed, and drained very well)
1 whole egg
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Boil Lasagna noodles 8-9 minutes -al dente only don't over cook them, Drain and lay out on wax or parchment paper to cool and to facilitate stuffing and rolling
Combine all above ingredients in med bowl and mix until well incorporated
Take a large Tablespoon - maybe a little more and place on one short end of a lasagna noodle. Roll up - Repeat until out of noodles or stuffing.. this recipe did one entire box of noodles (18) but you will have to gauge the amount of stuffing you put in each one.
Place a small layer of sauce on the bottom of an 9 x 13 pan and place each roll seam side down in the sauce. I was able to get 4 rows of 3 rolls each in the big pan and then got an 8 x 8 pan and put the other 6 in it.
After placing all rolls in sauce, cover each row of rolls with more sauce... (Now this is where my wife and I have a difference of opinion) I prefer then putting a bechamel sauce over it and then sprinkling with a little more grated Parmesan... But she likes shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and asiago blend sprinkled over the top..... Guess who won :) Cooked covered for 45 min at 350* and then uncovered for 15 more minutes. Take from oven, tent with foil, and let rest while you make some garlic bread and salad... Serve with a nice wine of your choice - then take a nap.
Item #2 - Writing part:
As you may remember, last October Ike and I went out to South Dakota pheasant hunting, and as part of that we kept a journal of our week of hunting. We provided it to the editor of Naperville Dog Magazine and the published the article. Many thanks to the editor Brooke Keane and here is a link to the on line article entitled "Diary of an Outdoorsman":
I really enjoyed writing it and I hope enjoy reading it as well... If so let the editor know.
Until the next time, "Ike, find that bird!"
