Lasagna Roll-ups

These were a fun take on regular ol' lasagna. The original is meatless, but I like some meat and onion in my lasagna so I added those of course. I thought it was a little dry with just the one jar of spaghetti sauce with my additions, so next time I will use 2 jars! It really was good and the whole family enjoyed a hearty, nutritious meal.

Lasagna Roll-ups
adapted from CJane 


10 lasagna noodles, cooked and dried
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
1 jar spaghetti sauce *I think 2 is needed if doing meat lasagna, 1 was too dry
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, shredded
1 lb ground beef *optional
1/2 cup onion *optional
2 cloves garlic *optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Brown ground beef, add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Pour 1 jar of sauce into ground beef mixture and mix evenly. Set aside.* Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. 

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Then spread a layer of the spaghetti sauce/ground beef mixture on top of the cheese. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle remaining sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with remaining mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

Deep Dish Pizza

I saw this delicious looking pizza at My Homemade Life. I had to have it right then and there! It was just as yummy as it looked, and I love that! It was also very easy and fun to do! You can really play around with it and make it your own! This is what we ended up doing and we loved it! It is so filling and delish! There isn't a "pizza sauce" on this, but it totally works with just the tomatoes. More like a deep dish cheesy pizza bread! Whatever it is, I love it.

Deep Dish Pizza Pie

adapted from My Homemade Life

20 rolls frozen (I used Rhodes rolls)

1lb Jimmy Dean Regular sausage 

1 (14 ounce) can fire roasted with garlic, diced tomatoes and slightly drain *you may use plain if you want, just add garlic

1 c. diced mushrooms *I'm a mushroom lover so I used 1 1/2 cups

1/2 c. diced onions 

1/8 tsp dried oregano *more if desired

1/2 Tsp basil 

Dried parsley, a few shakes

2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese, *I used Kraft's crumbly parm, but fresh would be nice. 

Olive Oil

*2 cloves garlic (if not using fire roasted with garlic tomatoes)

Other optional ingredients for your pizza pie!:

*sliced olives

*green peppers, diced

*pepperoni
*bacon

First and most important, thaw your dough overnight in refrigerator. I just threw the whole bag of 20 rolls in the fridge and the next day they were ready to go! Easy! It's the remembering to do that is the hard part!


Grease casserole dish with olive oil. Place thawed rolls in dish. Let raise somewhere warm for 1 hours (til doubled about). I turned the oven on with a casserole dish full of water, to 170. Then turned the oven OFF, then I put the rolls in the oven over the casserole water dish. 


Close to the 1 hour mark of your dough rasising, you can begin to brown sausage with onions and green peppers (if you used them). Then halfway through cooking, throw in the mushrooms and garlic (if not using fire roasted with garlic). Also add in your 1/2 tsp basil, couple shakes parsley, and oregano.


When rolls are doubled, (make sure to take them out of the oven), preheat the oven to 350. Spread sausage veggie mixture over your raised rolls evenly. The rolls will start to deflate, don't worry, you want them to do that. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the sausage. Now place your tomatoes on top, evenly. Then pour leftover tomato juice from can on top evenly (there isn't much). Sprinkle the mozzarella on top! Bake 30-40 minutes. (Mine baked for 30, but I think next time I'll let it go for 5 more minutes, to brown up that mozzarella more! Rolls should be baked through.

I linked this up at Potluck Sunday!

Crockpot Lasagna

I saw this recipe for a crockpot lasagna at Gourmified and I couldn't believe it, I had to try it out. It turned out even better than I thought it would, and no one will even know it is loaded with veggies! My family gobbled this right up and we enjoyed the leftovers. It was so easy, just throw it in the pot and done in 3 hours! You can really play around with this recipe and make it your own. I added veggies and a few other spices, and next time I think I'll cook some ground beef and onions and throw that in there as well. You can't go wrong!

Crockpot Lasagna
adapted from Gourmified via Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah.com

3 cans (14.4 ounces) crushed tomatoes *you could easily use your favorite red pasta sauce and wouldn't need the extra seasonings below 
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T dried oregano *I do not like oregano so I only used 1/4-1/2 tsp ground oregano
2 tsp dried basil 
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 containers (15 ounces each) fresh ricotta *I used one container and it was perfect for our taste. For a healthier option go with one container!
2 cups (8 ounces) grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
12 lasagna noodles *I did not use an entire box, maybe just half of a box. I forgot to count! Use at least 9 or so, to absorb some of the liquid so it doesn't get watery!
4-5 cups baby spinach
1 medium zucchini chopped 
1/2 onion chopped
1 lb pre-cooked ground beef  *optional

If desired, pre-cook your ground beef with the 1/2 onion, season with salt and pepper. Drain the extra fat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, red pepper and black pepper. Add in the zucchini, onion, and ground beef. Mix until combined. (If it seems dry, just add in more crushed tomatoes or your favorite red sauce.)

In the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the sauce/veggie mixture. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary). Spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the noodles and layer with the spinach. Spoon the ricotta over the spinach in small dollops. You don't need to spread it around. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and a little bit of the parmesan. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheeses. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce and the rest of your mozzarella! Cover and cook on low for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Until the noodles in the middle are tender.

Baked Ravioli and Zucchini Fries

I love Italian food, and I REALLY love when that Italian food is breaded, and covered in marinara sauce! I knew I had to try this recipe when I saw it. It is BAKED ravioli and not fried. I rarely do fry foods at home. I can't stand the mess, the smell, and the extra fat! Even though these were baked, they still had that same crispy outside, tasted great, and were a healthier alternative to frying. I love when I find another super easy and yummy dish! We can't wait to try them again!

Since I was breading ravioli, I figured I'd bread some zucchini too. I had came across this recipe and set it aside to try some day. Like I said, I love breaded things, and these were baked not fried as well! They made a perfect side dish to my ravioli and I dipped them in marinara sauce instead of ketchup. :)  (I know all of you gardeners will have lots of zucchini to eat at the end of this summer, this would be a fun one to try and just snack on!)

You must try these both today!

Baked Ravioli
adapted from Plain Chicken



*I added a couple things to the bread crumbs to match a breading used in a family recipe that I love!


1 package (9 ounces) ravioli, prepared according to package directions *I used cheese ravioli, but I think next time I'll try meat filled. Switch it up a bit ya know!
2 large eggs , beaten 
2 T milk
1 cup Italian dry bread crumbs 
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 
1/2 T Kosher salt (coarse salt)
Few sprinkles of salad supreme to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Olive oil cooking spray *I used butter flavored cooking spray
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce *Mine? Ragu's Chunky Garden combo....mmmmm! 

Preheat broiler. Add the milk to the beaten eggs and mix well. Add the Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, salad supreme and garlic powder to the bread crumbs and mix well. Dip prepared ravioli into beaten eggs, coating both sides, then into bread crumbs, coating both sides. Place on baking sheet. Lightly spray top of breaded ravioli with cooking spray.

Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Turn and spray with additional cooking spray; broil for 1 minute or until edges begin to brown. Serve with heated sauce for dipping.



Zucchini Fries
adapted from jodiemo Tasty Kitchen


*I made these before the ravioli, so I just used the same egg mixture and bread crumb mixture for the ravioli. There was just the right amount leftover to do my 9 ounces of ravioli. :) However, I didn't use all the zucchini, only what would fit in my casserole dish.


2 medium zucchinis

2 large eggs , beaten 

2 T milk

1 cup Italian dry bread crumbs 

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

1/2 T Kosher salt (coarse salt)

Few sprinkles of salad supreme to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Olive oil cooking spray *I used butter flavored cooking spray
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce *Mine? Ragu's Chunky Garden combo....mmmmm! 


Preheat oven to 400F. Slice zucchini into sticks. In a shallow dish, mix together eggs and milk. In another shallow dish, spread out breadcrumbs. Toss zucchini slices in egg mixture then toss in breadcrumbs until evenly coated. Liberally spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Arrange zucchini in a single layer and then spray liberally with cooking spray. Bake for 10 -15 minutes, flipping slices half way through. Zucchini is done when the breading has browned and zucchini has softened . Serve with a side of marinara sauce! Enjoy!