Lasagna Pinwheels

Hi everyone...

Looks pretty tasty to me

Had a rainy day here and thought that pasta with meat sauce would be a nice thing to cook since grilling was a "washout".  I had made a variant of these before but thought I would try something a little different - but I can't take all the credit... Sandy said instead of stuffing shells try making lasagna pinwheels.    So I thought what the heck, why not.

It really is simple - any red sauce (or gravy as my Italian friends call it) would work - but we had made and frozen in pint containers some of our home made sauce.. So I thawed one of those in the fridge and then started the process.
I decided to use a 9 X 9 inch pan and sprayed it with a non stick spray.  
Boiled 8 lasagna noodles in salted water for about 10 minutes.  Removed and rinsed and cooled so I could handle them.  Now for the cheese stuffing. 

2 eggs
1 small (15 oz.) container of Ricotta cheese
1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/8 tsp of thyme, basil, oregano, and dried parsley
1/8 tsp of fresh ground pepper
1/4 C Chopped onion
(recipe called for 1/2 cup thawed Spinach chopped drained very well - I didn't have any so I didn't use it but
1tsp of Chicken Bullion (trust me no salt needed in this recipe)
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella  (I uses a blended mix of cheeses and it worked beautifully)
Add'l  Shredded cheese and grated Parm for the top as well.
2 - 2 1/2 Cups of your favorite red sauce - we used 2 cups but think a little more would have been bettter

Mix all stuffing ingredients up in a mixer - I have been informed that while mixing it by hand will work, using an electric mixer will make the stuffing much smoother and silkier - mine always used to be grainy so even though it dirties a few more dishes  - it's worth it.

Pre heat oven to 350*
Ladle small amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan
Lay Lasagna Noodles on flat surface (like your cutting board)
Using an off-set spatula smooth about 1/4' thick layer of stuffing on the Noodle - stopping about 1" from the end of the noodle.
Start at the other end and carefully roll up the noodle so that it resembles a pinwheel.  You will see why you don't "butter the noodle" all the way to the end when you roll up your first one - trust me.
Take pinwheel and carefully place seam side down in the pan.  Repeat... If you are like me you will have two rows of 3 with room for 2 rolls perpendicular to the other 6 between the rows of 3 for a total of 8.
Take the remaining sauce and ladle over the top of the noodles, sprinkle with remaining Shredded Moz and Parm cheese and place in oven for approx. 40 minutes until bubbly.  The last 5 minutes you may want to broil to get a crusty top on the cheese...    Notice the lasagna type layers.... Now I would think some sautéed mushrooms, large diced green peppers might be a variation since each one is "self contained it might be a perfect way to customize your lasagna for a family of picky eaters.

everything stayed together nicely

Notice the layers