6 Week Clean Eating Meal Prep Challenge- Week 2: Dinner
Lasagna Rolls
Happy Meatless Monday!!! This is the perfect savory dish to cuddle up with on a chilly winter day! Or any day, really! During the winter months, I use whole grain pasta, but during the summer when zucchini and yellow squash are available, I love lightening up the dish even more by replacing the noodles with squash! For now…
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup, plus 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 6 cups fresh spinach, chopped (you could use frozen spinach, in that case just use one package thawed and drained of as much liquid as possible)
- 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 2 jars of your favorite low sodium/low sugar pasta sauce
Preheat oven to 400 and bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. While the water is heating up, mix together the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, egg and seasonings.
Fold in the spinach and sun dried tomatoes and set aside
Your water should be boiling by now and right before you add in the noodles, pour in about a tablespoon of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together. Follow the instructions on the box as far as cooking time. You want them to be Al dente- cooked enough not to break when you roll them, but not comepletely cooked through. They will finish cooking in the sauce in the oven.
The whole process will be much easier if you set up a work station like this (see below) when you’re ready to make the rolls. Remove the noodles and place on a cooling rack when they’re ready to roll. Start by pouring enough sauce to cover the bottom of your lasagna dish.
Scoop about 1/4 cup of the filling onto one side of a noodle
And spread it evenly the length of the noodle, leaving about 1/2 inch of space on each end.
Roll it snugly but not too tight and place, loose end side down in the dish
Continue with each noodle until they are all rolled. If there is any leftover filling, just push it down in to empty spaces between rolls
Now cover with the rest of the sauce from both jars
See all of those naked corners left exposed? Make sure to cover every bit of noodle with sauce so that it doesn’t dry out and get chewy.
There! That’s better! Now sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella
Now the Parmesan
Cover with foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes
Then remove the foil and finish baking for 15 more minutes, until the cheese has browned to perfection! Oh my garlic!!! My house smells phenomenal!!! I cannot wait to dive into this puppy!
This is one of those rare meals that my anti-leftover husband doesn’t mind eating multiple times! Plus, my kids love it and they’re eating spinach!! It’s a total winner! Let me know what you think! Have a great week!!
These rolls are perfect for freezing, as well – if you can seal them airtight, like with a food saver.
