Lasagna Rollups

I've seen people making lasagna rollups on the Food Network for years now but never thought it was for me.  What could be easier than regular lasagna?  Lasagna rollups, that's what.

While I cooked the lasagna noodles, I mixed up ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and fresh spinach (you could use frozen if you prefer but defrosting is a whole extra step and who needs that?).  I laid out each noodle, spread on some of the cheese mixture, added some rotisserie chicken, and then rolled up like a pinwheel.  I was able to perfectly fit six in a baking dish where I poured pink sauce (marinara mixed with cream) over the top (just enough to lightly cover it) and topped with some shredded parmesan.  Stick it in the oven at 375 til its warmed through and the parmesan is melted (about 15 minutes).

I learned quickly not to overstuff with the cheese (don't go all the way to the ruffly edges) and was soon making perfect mini lasagna logs.  As a whole, this probably uses less cheese and sauce so I suppose it's a little healthier in terms of ingredients.  The real reason this is healthier (healthier, let's not kid ourselves - it's not a diet meal) is because it's instant portion control.  Everyone loves getting their own personal little lasagna.  It's pretty adorable.

Cute is fine when it comes to toddlers, but when we're talking about lasagna, I want to know that it tastes good.  And this does.  Chicken is a nice change of pace from ground beef but the pink sauce on top keeps you from going full white lasagna (which is basically just rich alfredo).  It's a little of the familiar with some new flavors thrown in for good measure.  So basically you've got both cute and yummy working in your favor which leads me to believe that you'll win over friends with this one.