Lasagna Rolls

I found this recipe in a magazine ad for Frigo cheeses. Really it is called Baked Chicken Lasagna Rolls, but I almost always (okay always) make them with ground beef now. I prefer them that way, but the chicken ones are really good, too.

I usually buy a big tub (32 oz) of ricotta and a big block of mozzarella and double the recipe so I can freeze half. To do that I place the rolls on a cookie sheet (without the sauce) and freeze them for a couple of hours. I put them in a ziploc bag with some shredded mozzarella and just make sure I have an extra jar of sauce on hand.

Also, something else I've found. You can use the store brand ricotta. It'll taste fine, but the brand name ricotta is smoother and creamier.

Lasagna Rolls
adapted from Frigo cheese and Cooking Light Magazine

2 cups Part Skim Ricotta cheese
1-1/4 cup Mozzarella Part Skim cheese, shredded and divided
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I usually use a couple of TBSP dried parsley.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lb cooked ground beef  (or 2 cups shredded baked chicken breasts)
8 cooked lasagna noodles (Cook these a couple minutes less than you should. I usually do 6 minutes.)
1 lg jar tomato sauce (I use traditional Prego, but you can use whatever sauce you like.)

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix first eight ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of Mozzarella for baking, set aside. Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on countertop.  Lay noodles on the plastic wrap so they are touching on the sides. Spread some of the cheese mixture on each noodle leaving a little (an inch or less) of each noodle bare. Then sprinkle meat over the top. Spread some sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Starting at one end, roll one noodle at a time and place seam side down in dish. Cover with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes.

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