Healthy Lasagna Roll-Ups

I have always loved lasagna but just the thought of assembling one sent me into sheer panic. All that cooking, mixing, layering, and more cooking was more than I could handle. Plus, we have a small family of 2.5 and I didnt want to have a massive lasagna hanging out growing fuzz in my fridge because we were sick of it by the third night.

I knew there had a be a simpler way. I wanted all the cheesy saucy goodness of lasagna without all the headache. That's when I decided to scour Pinterest. I had seen roll-ups before but didn't pay much attention to them until I had a server hankering for lasagna this past week. 

I looked over a few recipes and I wasn't too impressed. That's when I had my ahh-haa moment! I would take the filling I used for my stuffed shells and some spinach, and drown it in my homemade meat sauce! And that's how my healthy lasagna roll-ups were born!

Ingredients:

9 Lasagna Noodles 

**the recipe makes 8 but cook an extra just in case so you might have one left over**

2/3 Cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese

2/3 Cup Part Skim/Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

1 Cup Part Skim/Low Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg

1 Package frozen spinach thawed and drained

1 Jar Tomato Sauce 

or

1 16oz can of 'kitchen ready tomatoes'

***if making your own with my recipe below***

1 lbs lean ground beed (if doing a meat sauce)

1/2 Large Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

2 tbs Olive Oil

***spices if making your own sauce***

2 tbs Italian seasoning

1/2 tbs garlic powder

2 tsp sugar

How To Prepare Homemade Sauce:

I love a homemade sauce and it is über simple!

Chop onion, mince garlic and sauté in a pan with olive oil until translucent

If you are making a meat sauce add the ground beef once onions are cooked

Once the beef is cooked (or just onions and garlic) add the can of 'kitchen ready' tomatoes and all spices

Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally

***If you are using jarred sauce - follow steps above but just add jarred sauce to browned meat and cooked onions/garlic - omit spices***

How To Assemble Lasagna Roll-Ups

Boil lasagna noodles - Cook them until they are not quite cooked through - this will give them a little stiffness so they don't rip

In a large bowl combine the drained spinach, egg, ricotta, parmesan, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella (the rest will be used for the top), and cottage cheese.

Once the noodles are done, let them dry then lay out on a cutting board.

Grab a large baking dish, coat the bottom with tomato sauce

Take a large spoon full of cheese mixture and coat the entire noodle

Take a small amount of sauce and place on top of cheese

Carefully roll the noodle - it doesn't have to be a tight roll or the filling will spill out. The weight of the roll will keep it rolled up

Transfer to the baking dish 

Top all the rolls with a spoonful of sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese

Place tinfoil over the top and bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes - the sides of the dish should be bubbling!

ENJOY!

21 Day Fix

*1 Roll-Up*

1/2G

1/2P

1R (meat sauce)

1B

1Y