Lasagna Roll Ups -- Mom Made the Real Thing, But I'd Make This Mine

AP English exam: survived. AP exams in general: questionable. I definitely failed the calculus one, which is fine because I'm going to ODU for communications and the last time a communications major needed calculus was never. The English exam was actually okay. The essay portion asked us to write about how a specific environment shapes identity, and I wrote about base housing — how every base housing unit in America looks the same (beige walls, industrial carpet, kitchen that was last updated during the Clinton administration) but how the families inside them are completely different, and how the sameness of the container makes the differences inside more visible. I wrote about how my mother turned identical boxes into distinct homes through what she put on the stove. I wrote about how you can walk down a row of base housing and smell five different countries because military families come from everywhere. I don't know if it was good. But it was true, and Mr. Patterson taught me that true and good are often the same thing. Megan came home for the weekend. She's finishing up at Virginia Tech and she's insufferable in the way that people are insufferable when things are going well — she has the D.C. internship, she has a boyfriend named Grant who works in consulting (what does a consultant DO, I have asked multiple times, nobody can explain it), and she has that specific confidence that comes from knowing exactly what you're doing with your life. She looked at my ODU acceptance letter on the fridge and said 'That's great, Rach,' in a tone that communicated the exact opposite. I love my sister. I need to say that first. Megan and I shared bedrooms in four states. She taught me to shave my legs (badly — I still have the scar). She held my hand the night Dad was medevacked from Kandahar and Mom was on the phone crying and nobody was telling us anything. Megan was fourteen and I was eleven and she said, 'He's going to be okay,' and she didn't know that, but she said it, and I believed her because she was my big sister and big sisters don't lie about important things. But she also thinks she's better than me, and the worst part is she might be right, and the worst-worst part is I might believe her. Mom made lasagna tonight because Megan was home and lasagna is Megan's favorite. Layer of noodles, meat sauce (ground beef and Italian sausage), ricotta mixed with egg and parsley, mozzarella, repeat, repeat, top with more mozzarella, bake until bubbly. It's not complicated but it takes time, and Mom spent the whole afternoon on it because that's what you do when your firstborn comes home — you make her favorite thing and you pretend it wasn't any trouble. I ate three pieces. Megan ate one. Grant would have been horrified. I do not care about Grant. Four weeks. Almost there.

Mom spent all afternoon on that lasagna — layers built with patience and love that she’d never call love out loud — and I ate three pieces partly because it was incredible and partly because eating three pieces felt like a declaration of something. But here’s the thing: I’m four weeks from being done, and eventually I’m going to have my own kitchen, my own stove, my own version of what home smells like. Lasagna roll ups are what I’ll make when that day comes — same soul as Mom’s, same ricotta and mozzarella and meat sauce, but portioned and rolled and unmistakably mine. It’s not competing with hers. It’s continuing it.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna noodles
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce, divided
• 15 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain, lay flat on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and set aside.
2. Brown the meat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and Italian sausage together, breaking it up with a spoon, until no pink remains, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
3. Make the meat sauce. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the marinara into the cooked meat. Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Mix the ricotta filling. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parsley, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella. Stir until well combined.
5. Preheat and prep the pan. Heat oven to 375°F. Spread the remaining marinara sauce in an even layer across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
6. Assemble the roll ups. Lay each cooked noodle flat. Spread a generous 2–3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture across the full length of each noodle, then spoon a heaping tablespoon of meat sauce over the ricotta. Roll the noodle up snugly and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
7. Top and bake. Spoon remaining meat sauce over the roll ups. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and all of the Parmesan. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
8. Broil to finish. Remove foil and broil on high for 3–5 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 610 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 49g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 890mg