Lasagna Roll-ups

The week before vacation is always "clean out the fridge" week. Like most families, we try to use whatever is in our refrigerator that would otherwise be out of date when we returned. So about mid-week before our annual trek to the Carolinas for spring break, I decided to pick up some Naan so we could make pizzas and use the fresh mozzarella that I had leftover when I built the lasagnas the previous Sunday. Unfortunately, when I arrived at our Wegman's parking lot on the way home from work, I realized that I had left my purse in my desk drawer. Being 40 minutes away, I was not about to go back for it. So I drove home and resigned myself to inventing something with whatever we had remaining in the refrigerator and pantry.

For the kids, I ended up making turkey fajitas with the tortillas I had left from the last batch of chicken enchiladas and some turkey filets that were leftover from dinner a few nights prior. I had salsa, a few different cheeses, onions, peppers, and sour cream. That worked out well, and the kids loved them. But it was only enough for two. Tim and I still had to eat! So while I was cleaning up from dinner number one, I noticed the leftover whole wheat lasagna sheets that I had saved after building those lasagnas. I am not sure why I saved them at the time. After all, there were only three. But now it occured to me that I could layer them with some kind of filling, roll them up and bake them. I started with some leftover vegetables we had a few nights before: spaghetti squash and mushrooms. Then I took the leftover ricotta cheese and mixed it with some egg and a pinch of nutmeg and spread that over the vegetable layer. Next came the roasted tomatoes I got from the olive bar, some of that fresh mozarella I inteded to use for pizza, and the last of the leaves off my basil plant. I rolled the lasagna sheets up and put them in a square baking pan with some of the leftover sauce from the lasagna, sprinkled grated cheese on the top and baked it in the oven at 350 until bubbly. Pretty delicious and completely on the spot.

Now I am thinking about having those fresh lasagna sheets in the fridge from time to time. I can make a totally new roll-up depending on what ingredients I have onhand. This was one of those times when a big mistake (leaving my purse at work) resulted in a much better dinner than I had originally planned!