lasagna rolls

much of my inspiration for trying new recipes comes from pinterest and/or google reader. i usually add recipes that i find + like from google reader to pinterest so i can remember which recipes i want to try.

so, about a month ago mindy and i tried out the lasagna rolls while mike and tim worked on fixing tim's sweet ride that was out of commission. i haven't been eating much meat lately so i was pumped to find these spinach lasagna rolls (pinterest). i like this idea because tim likes meat when he can have it, and i don't have to make a full pan of the same type of dish. the lasagna rolls are the perfect alternative to the layered up traditional dish.

the first time around i made 1/2 a pan with organic ground beef, 1/3 with the normal recipe (no meat), and 1/6 without spinach but with meat for mindy lousky. (and the first time around i forgot to save cheese for the top... oops. last nights batch was purely vegetarian. i added 'separated' next to the mozz cheese which would have helped me. fantastic recipe. i hope you try it.

spinach lasagna rolls
recipe slighly adjusted from tasty kitchen

1 package/pound lasagna noodles
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed
15 ounces ricotta cheese, low fat
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, separated
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4+ cups pasta sauce (we use ragu - 7-herb tomato)

in a large stock pot, bring water to boil. boil the lasagna rolls for about 6 minutes. the noodles need to be slighly firmer than al dente since they'll be baking for a a few minutes once they get their filling.

defrost spinach in microwave on 50% power if not completely thawed yet. squeeze out all the liquid and set spinach aside.

combine ricotta, parmesan and 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, salt, pepper, and spinach. stir well and set to side.

in a 13x9 baking dish,  place 1 cup sauce on the bottom and spread to coat evenly.

drain the lasagna noodles in colander and run cool water over to stop the cooking and make them easier to roll.

lay out a few lasagna noodles at a time. add about 2 tablespoons of the filling and spread out along each noodle.  i spread about 1 T of sauce over the cheese on each noodle before rolling. roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish. repeat until all filling/noodles are rolled up in the pan.

cover the rolls with 1 1/2 cups sauce and cover with foil. bake in 350* oven for about 40 minutes. remove foil, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozz cheese and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. i placed sliced french bread in the oven at this time and it was perfectly warmed when the lasagna rolls were done.

allow to sit for a couple minutes before serving.

enjoy.