Make It Monday: 30 Minute Meal Lasagna Roll Ups

I love putting spins on classic meals especially when those little spins make meals more convent when it comes to preparing, serving and eating.

So whats my favorite classic dish to spin?

LASAGNA!

I've always loved lasagna but never liked the ordeal of making it. I hated the meticulous layering of the pan and the need to get things perfect so it stacked and cut right.

I guess the real issue is that I'm lazy LOL!

But LAZY folks unite! 

If you're like me and can't be bothered with the perfection of it all check out my recipe below for lasagna roll ups.

You'll thank me when its time to pack your left over lunch, when you need a mini serving for the kiddo's and even when you want to impress folks for dinner (its something about a roll up that just looks fancy)

The Pretty Girls Lasagna Roll Ups

The ingredients listed bellow will make enough to serve two to four people depending on who's eating.

Ingredients:

1 Bag chopped spinach

1 Bottle of pasta sauce

1 Large package of ricotta cheese

 1 or 2 Bags of shredded mozzarella

Seasoning as desired

1 Pack of lasagna noodles

1 Package of ground Italian sausage

Instructions:

First thing first you need to pre heat your oven to about 375 degrees. Although the first part of this recipe is made on the stove top, like a normal lasagna its finished off in the oven.

So go ahead and get that nice and warm.

1. Boil your lasagna noodles.

Do you all know the secret to keep your noodles from sticking?

Add some salt to the water and boil until soft, but not too soft. We don't want to over cook these.

2.  Brown your ground sausage.

You can use ground turkey for this, however I started using Italian ground sausage for this about 5 years ago and have never went back. All the seasoning you really need is already in the meat.

Don't forget to drain your meat once browned.

3. Combine pasta sauce and ricotta cheese with you browned meat.

Stir until smooth.

NOTE: Don't use all of your sauce, you'll need some later.

4. Add your desired amount of chopped spinach.

This step is optional as I know everyone does not like spinach, however I do suggest adding some sort of green or veggie into your lasagna.

5. Prep your baking sheet.

Remember that left over sauce? Use it to coat your pan, baking dish etc. I personally prefer using a pan with aluminum foil, the roll ups seem to cook the most event when I use a regular pan + foil.

6.  Lay out your noodles and start stuffing!

Here is the fun part (especially if you have a kiddo, they can help without getting messy). Take about 3 noodles at a time, lay them out flat, add some sauce, then scoop your filling mix inside.

Be careful not to overfill...remember you will still need to be able to roll these up.

7. Add the cheese pleaseeeeee.

Add as little or as much as you like. I like a lot soooooooo I add a lot.

8. Roll your lasagna strips up.

Almost done!

Roll each lasagna strip up, top with a little more cheese and repeat these steps on the rest of the lasagna noodles you have left.

9. Bake

Pop these babies in the oven for about covered with foil for about 20 minutes, then uncover and continue baking for another 10 minutes or until your desired crispness.

BAM!! YOU'RE DONE!!

Im telling you these roll ups will be a HIT for anyone your cooking for.

For a more fancy dinner try paring with some asparagus and garlic bread.

Or you can use these as individual servings for meal preps...the options are endless!

If you try out this recipe please let me know, I would love to hear how it turns out. If you have other suggestions on recipes you would like me to do and put my Pretty Girl spin on it just let me know in the comments below.

Until Next Time,

XO Deanna