Lasagna Roll Ups

Usually when I cook, I like to find recipes on pinterest that are a little involved, yet easy and quick. Sounds like a big contradiction and in most cases, it is. I always feel a little more accomplished when I put "some" work into a meal. Most times when the meals are more involved (especially when cooking meat), Stephen will help me and cook the meat (I hate cooking meat). We really enjoy this time together because we get to spend time having quality conversations. I feel as though lately, I've been making quick meals that haven't required a ton of work - which is great but I'm ready to balance that out with some more involved meals. 

Monday night I decided to make lasagna roll ups from this recipe I found on pinterest. Christy claims that these rolls are 224 calories per roll (depending on if you add meat or not) which is a super win in my book, because I'm full after one roll. This recipe is so easy but I trick myself into thinking they're a little more involved (longest part was cooking the noodles). Even better is the leftovers taste better than the first night of eating them!

Ingredients

- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

- 1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

- 1 (15oz) container fat free ricotta cheese

- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

- 1 egg

- 1/2 tsp minced garlic

- 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

- 1 (larger) jar of tomato/spaghetti sauce

- 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

- Optional: meat (chicken/hamburger meat) 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook 9 lasagna noodles in a pot.

2. Combine spinach (make sure it's drained really well), ricotta, Parmesan (we didn't add this cheese), egg, garlic, Italian seasoning and meat (if you want to add it) in a bowl (I used spaghetti meat sauce so I didn't have to cook my own meat - it turned out pretty good!). Pour about 1-2 cups of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. (I just made sure the bottom was covered.)

3. Dry your lasagna noodles with a paper towel and them place them on a piece of wax paper on the counter (I assembled mine one by one). Take about 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture and spread it evenly over the noodle. Roll the noodle carefully making sure the ricotta mixture isn't pushed out of the noodle. Place the roll seam down on the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

4. Use the rest of your spaghetti sauce to cover the top of the noodle rolls. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.