Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Oops it's Not Monday!


 I spent the better part of yesterday thinking it was Sunday. I lazed about doing nothing at all barely getting off the couch. What a great way to spend an extra day off. I woke this morning thinking of what I was going to write today and then it dawned on me I am a day late. Oh well my lateness is a common thread today.
    Do you ever have a day when you just know dinner is going to be late? I do, and the other day was for sure one of those days. I knew for certain dinner would not be on time because it was 6 pm and I had just figured out what I was going to do with the ground beef I defrosted. When I told the hubby what I was planning his comments aren't all repeatable but the gist of it was dinner wouldn't be ready  until midnight.

  He was happily surprised when I pulled it off in under an hour, and even happier with how absolutely delicious dinner was.

  Dinner wasn't my original idea or recipe. I am sure I have seen it on a few recipe and food sites. "Lasagna Roll Ups with meat balls." At least that is my name for them. There are more then a few steps to preparing this dinner making it appear difficult and time consuming, but it isn't as daunting as it seems.

  To start I made my meatballs 1 lb ground beef, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder. In a cast iron pan over a low heat I started cooking the meat balls covered. Then I started a pan of water to boil. While all that was happening I chopped garlic, onion, and bell pepper. In the dutch oven I heated about 2 Tablespoon of oil and started cooking all the chopped vegetables. Onions first then the pepper and finally the garlic. Once the garlic was fragrant I added my herbs basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.I Stirred everything together and cooked for 1 minute.I added enough red wine to cover the bottom of the pan and let it simmer until almost evaporated. During all this adding and cooking I was turning the meatballs to brown them evenly and adding the lasagna to the boiling water. Once the wine was cooked down I added my homemade tomato sauce and let it simmer while I finished up. I used the microwave to defrost the spinach then I left it in the strainer to drain as I worked. Once the lasagna was ready I squeezed all the liquid out of the spinach and then mixed it with about a cup of ricotta cheese. Working on a flat surface I laid out my noddle and then placed a thin layer of the spinach mixture along the entire length of the noddle. The mixture didn't spread well but worked out okay when I patted it out with the spreader.I rolled up the noddles with the spinach in them and placed them in a greased baking dish with the meatballs. Covered each meatball and roll up with a  medium to thick slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and then I covered the entire dish with the red sauce I made. In a 400 degree oven it went until the cheese melted. 

 My kitchen once again looked as if a bomb had gone off in there but dinner was on the table before 7 pm. Late yes but not the midnight that my darling husband had predicted. I will get an earlier start next time and you can be sure there will be a next time, as well as a time after that. 

 Have a great week! Thank you for stopping by.     
    
  

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