Kale Spinach Mushroom Roll Ups

It's been awhile since I got excited over a recipe.. lately my interest in cooking has been lacking ever since moving to the sewing department. I saw this post on FoodGawker.. and I knew I had to make it... it just looked sooo goood... so I waited until I had the time... I worked last week.. my first full week of work in the real world (not as a dentist!)... it was all temporary so it's over...I did a lot of soul searching there... so that was a great time to just be out of the house and think...but it was weird getting back to a routine and schedule. Waking up at 6am again was difficult... and I found that I had very little energy when I got home... Commuting was definitely something I dread every morning as it was a mad dash out the door at exactly 7am to get to work... minutes before 8.... I don't live in a big city anymore.. but seriously.. 15 miles in one hour? ... crazy!!! Imagine what would happen if I worked 50 or 60 miles away? I don't know how people do it.... maybe it gets better with time? I think it could only get worse with more people moving out to my area :(

What ended up happening was my projects starting to get backed up... before I signed up to do this job for 1.5 weeks... I had a list of "to-do's" .. and I also went out and bought a lot more fabric during that week but didn't have the time to cut them up and make stuff. I just had a nice pile of fabric.. just waiting to become something.

Things to Sew/ Finish : Another wide blackout curtains for the other room (finally found neutral fabric in the clearance section!) 5 tooth fairy super heroines, a few dresses and skirts, 4 pillow covers, a draft snake for my computer room... and um.. a Halloween costume??? I can't believe it's almost time for my favorite holiday!!... and I've been the least inspired this year.. which is weird since I've been sewing like crazy. 

Back to food land... when it came time to make it I found myself lacking many of the ingredients... gathering the necessary items for this dish was more expensive than I thought (Lasagna noodles were $2.40...the cheeses were $4.. kale $2... spinach $2...  pumpkin was almost $2 a small can.. so I skipped that)...  but hey.. live a little right? I can't stick to my measly budget my entire life! I didn't use all of those items, so I'm saving them to make a pizza later this week... and possibly a meat version of this dish. 

I've never made lasagna before.. this isn't a true lasagna, but .. close enough. I only made 3 rolls, I ate 2 for lunch and saved the remaining one for a side dish for the next day. I made 4 more rolls and froze them... after filling ( no sauce, or cheese on top!) ..  we'll see how well it cooks up after it's frozen. The result of this dish baked fresh was wonderful.. just as I thought it'd taste... a wonderfully creamy filling with yummy veggies ( didn't miss the meat in this one!) .. and a tart sauce puddle to dip every piece I cut off in.... I let my mom taste test (I try not to make things spicy anymore : / ) and she approved... not only that.. she said she wants to learn how to make it one day... now that.. rarely happens... our cooking styles are totally different! She said that she was happy I didn't put pumpkin in... I agree.. I still can't get myself to make pumpkin dishes this early... I'd get too sick of it come Thanksgiving!

Kale Spinach Mushroom Roll Ups 

Inspiration(in more ways than one) / Recipe: http://www.mjandhungryman.com/pumpkin-and-kale-lasagna-roll-ups/

NOTE: I did not use pumpkin, and I halved the recipe, this made 7 rolls (I froze 4,) a good portion for 2 very hungry people, or 3 with sides

Saute this in a large pan: 

Olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 fist fulls of kale chopped ( probably 1.5 cups)

2 fist fulls of spinach ( probably 1 cup ) 

4 oz cremini mushrooms , thinly sliced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil ( fresh if you have it!) 

1/4 tsp dried sage

1/4 cup white wine

Salt and pepper

Mix this in a large bowl: 

7.5 oz ricotta cheese ( low fat) 

1 egg

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar ( I used glaze because I like sweet balsamic) 

1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded ( DIVIDED - 1/3 cup in filling, 2/3 cup topping) 

Ladle into a baking pan so it covers around 3/4 an inch of sauce, reserve some to ladle on top of rolls: 

1 large can of tomato sauce ( I used the canned stuff... because it was cheaper than the jarred sauces..definitely passed my taste test!) 

Cook this in a huge pot, drain and place each sheet on a rack so they don't stick together :

Lasagna noodles 

Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes, covered with foil, broil on low, uncovered, for 5 mins or until cheese starts to brown (I like a slight crust on my cheese...)