21 Day Fix: Lasagna Roll Ups *Updated*

So, I grew up on Italian food.  Not Italian food from a restaurant, or a pizzeria....like, authentic Italian food from the old country.  My grandmother taught me the essentials of Italian cooking at the ripe old age of 8, when I would stay up late the night before Thanksgiving and watch her every move in the kitchen.  The GRAVY (yes, in my Italian house, we called the sauce that cooks on the stove for hours on end with sausage, meatballs and bracciole - so fondly called "bra-jole", GRAVY) was on the stove, the fresh lasagna noodles were on every inch of flat, floured surface in the kitchen and dining room, the fresh mozzarella was all sliced up, and the fresh ricotta mixture was ready to be applied.  Assembly was like a fine tuned machine, placing everything with care, precision and let's not forget, amazing speed!  Man, I remember it like it was yesterday...some of my favorite times were spent in that kitchen on the evening before Thanksgiving...

So, what does this mean? It means I know good Italian food.  I know a lame attempt at Italian food when I see one.  This recipe?  Its pretty darn good!!

Check it out:

Lasagna Roll-Ups
serves 4
Cook time: 40 mins

(1) 15 oz. container of part skim Ricotta Cheese
(8) Cooked {Whole Wheat} Lasagna Noodles - if you can't find whole wheat, use regular...I had trouble finding whole wheat lasagna noodles
(1/3) C. Parmesan
(1) C. Shredded Mozzarella
(1) Large Egg
(1/2) Lb. Cooked Ground Turkey
(3-4) C. Tomato Sauce, Gravy...whatever! (I use homemade, usually, but this time I used Rao's...it happened to be on sale for $4.99 and it's worth every red cent...the best!)
(4) C. Baby Spinach
(3) Cloves of Garlic, Minced
(1/2) tsp. Italian Seasoning
S & P for seasoning...use sparingly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook Lasagna Noodles, drain.
Cook Turkey.
In a bowl mix:
Ricotta, Spinach, Parmesan, Egg, Italian Seasoning, Garlic, S&P and Ground Turkey.
Place 1 Cup of Sauce in the bottom of a glass baking dish. 
For each Lasagna Noodle, pat dry and spread the mixture over about 3/4 of the noodle.  Roll up and place in the baking dish, seam side down.
Top with approximately 3/4 C. of Sauce on each roll, and about 1/8 C. Shredded Mozzarella.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 mins. 

Each serving is 2 rolls and can be counted as:
(1) - Green (1 C. of Spinach)
(1) - Purple (1 C. of Tomato Sauce)
(1) - Red (3/4 C. Total of Ricotta + Egg + Turkey)
(1) - Yellow (2 Lasagna Noodles)
(1) - Blue (1/3 Cup of cheeses)

I think for this dish, the quality of the ingredients will make a big difference in the true-to-Italian taste.  To keep it a bit more authentic, you might want to opt for the non-whole wheat variety of lasagna noodles, but, experiment! have fun with it! And because the quality of the ingredients is key, don't skimp.  Buy the good stuff ;) you won't regret it! 

*EDIT* upon {trying} to eat one WHOLE serving, I realized I could not--sadly! So, I would say each serving is really ONE roll and just cut the containers in half...really...way too much food! 

Mangia! Buon Appetito!