Cheesy Lasagna Roll Ups

Cheesy Lasagna Roll Ups - Nearly everything my Gram cooked was homestyle and from scratch.  I know that a big part of that was growing up in a time where convenience foods weren’t readily available, but I also think she just enjoyed making her family something special.

My Mom did a lot of from-scratch cooking, too, but she also used a few shortcuts and cooking hacks on occasion.  They let her speed the cooking process up on busy nights, without sacrificing the taste or flavor of the food.

I’ve tried a lot of twists on lasagna over the years, but one thing I’ve never tried before is a lasagna roll-up. This is a twist on the classic lasagna recipe where you spread the fillings on top of each noodle and roll it up, then load all those rolls side by side into the pan and bake ‘em.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to get around to trying this, because cooking lasagna this way has a lot of perks. For one, it distributes the filling evenly, so you always get the perfect balance of noodles and filling in every serving. And speaking of serving, lasagna roll-ups are a lot neater and easier to serve: just dish out a roll to each person.

One of those hacks was for pasta sauce.  While she made a killer homemade spaghetti sauce, sometimes dinner needed to be on the table fast so that we could get to a game or concert.  There was always a jar in the cupboard “just in case”.

This rolled-up recipe seemed like the perfect way to try out a lighter version of lasagna I’ve been working on. Instead of ground beef and ricotta, it uses cottage cheese with a couple of beaten eggs. This mixture is lower in fat and packed with protein, but it’s also soft and slippery, so in a regular lasagna, it would make the layers slide around too much. But rolled up inside the noodle, everything stays put.

These Cheesy Lasagna Rolls are light and vegetarian-friendly. And with the servings already wrapped up, it’s easier to control portion size – if you can stop yourself from going back for seconds.

These Cheesy Lasagna Rolls are light and vegetarian-friendly. And with the servings already wrapped up, it’s easier to control portion size – if you can stop yourself from going back for seconds.

Ingredients

• 1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic tomato basil pasta sauce
• 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained as directed on package
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
• Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Steps

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spray 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup sauce from 1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic tomato basil pasta sauce in bottom of baking dish. Set aside.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until brown; drain.
3. Spread 1 oz from 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened, down center of each lasagna noodle. Divide beef evenly among noodles, placing over cream cheese. Top each with 4 spinach leaves (from 2 cups baby spinach leaves).
4. Roll noodles up tightly; place in single layer in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over all roll-ups. Sprinkle evenly with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz).
5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Top with chopped fresh parsley.

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