Ali Cooks: Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

SPRING BREAK POST!

 

But...not for long.  In less than six hours, a new day will begin, and Spring Break 2014 will officially be in the record books.  How have I spent this final day of freedom?  Reading articles for a paper that needs to get written, doing chores, and reminiscing about fun times spent in Michigan during this past week.

 

Among those fun times was an instance of cooking, too!  Per our request, Brian's parents allowed me and him to whip up Thursday night's dinner.  The challenge was of course cooking something that he and I would both eat, and we were actually successful!  Spinach lasagna roll-ups are a dish that he and I will have to reproduce for ourselves on occasion--pretty quick and simple to prepare, though a few of the ingredients could get pricey, depending.  (One must bear in mind that the below recipe had been doubled from the original...makes A LOT of food!!!)

 

 

I may have gone a little crazy with the below pictures, but it is SUCH a pretty dish!  It's a little tricky to figure out how to eat it, simply because cutting the roll-up with a fork results in some gooey, cheesy filling gushing out a bit, but I wouldn't necessarily say that's a problem--just a messy side effect.

 

Enjoy the cheesy goodness of parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta!

 

 

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

*Adapted from busyinbrooklyn.com

 

Ingredients (for 20 Roll-Ups):

20 lasagna noodles
 2 jars marinara sauce
1cup shredded mozzarella (for top)

 

Filling:

2 15oz. container ricotta
 2 eggs, lightly beaten
 3 tsp fresh oregano
 1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded Parmesan
 salt and pepper, to taste
 2 10oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water
 

Instructions:

 

 

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Drain and lay the noodles onto parchment paper so that they don’t stick together (this requires A LOT of surface area).  

 

 

 In a bowl, mix all the filling ingredients until incorporated. 

 

 

Pour some marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 pan and another smaller baking dish, if needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spread the filling onto the lasagna noodles and roll them up.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the roll-ups in the baking dishes. 

 

Pour additional marinara over the roll-ups and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned around the edges.

 

 Allow it to cool...

if you can wait long enough before digging in!