White Lasagna Roll Ups

It's Tuesday....and a storm is a comin'!

Well, storm is a light word. More like blizzard and no I'm not talking about your favorite one from Dairy Queen cause if that was true holy moly I'd be outside with a bowl and spoon. Wouldn't you? Oh come on yes you would! I hear it's gonna be pretty bad so curl up with your blankets, coffee/hot chocolate, computers, and read your favorite blog. It is you're favorite blog right....? *puppy face*....thought so! Puppy face always works, haha.

Welcome to tonight's blogcast. As always I am Dinah, your blog diva extraordinaire. So what's up our sleeves for tonight? Let's get this rolling....

Yours truly is the star of tonight's meal. I made the sauce all on my own while the other portion of the meal was made by Ma. Now, don't be afraid, I'm not an all around terrible cook. I do make a mean chili and eggs are pretty swell for me as well. Not that those two things can carry you in life in your culinary area's but they're something right? Let's start off with how this came to be. I was searching through Woman's World mag which is my favorite of the printing world, besides People that is. Yes, that People with all the celebrities in it. I...well...okie, FINE I'm a celebrity gossip whore. HEY! Don't judge me. It could be worse, haha. Anywho I was trying to find something to make for dinner when I came across this recipe for pierogi lasagna. I thought, why not? When it was made for that night's dinner it wasn't the greatest. Still I felt something was there with the bland ingredients listed. I could jazz it up, cause I know jazz. So I took a few items and added my own touches and presto! we have tonight's joyful meal.

Now normally I make what is called my "White Lasagna" but tonight Ma decided to do roll ups since let's be real who doesn't love a good roll up? If you've never had it then let me give you a little summary on roll ups. It's basically lasagna rolled into the noodles rather than laid out in a pan. So needless to say if you like lasagna then you'll love roll ups.

So here's what you'll need:

White Lasagna Roll Ups

2 jars Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce
10 Lasagna Noodles
1 large tomato (chopped & no seeds)
1 small onion diced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 15 ounce ricotta cheese's
1 10 ounce frozen chopped spinach
Italian seasoning to taste

Garlic Bread (optional)

Prep: Place chicken breast in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water on low for 6 hours.
Also, take spinach out of freezer and let it thaw over night. Once thawed place in clean dish towel and squeeze excess juice into sink.

In a large pot boil water and cook 10 lasagna noodles as directions on box. Once fully cooked drain pasta then run cold water over noodles until they're cool enough to handle. Remove chicken from slow cooker, cut chicken into small pieces then add those pieces into a large bowl. Add spinach, ricotta cheese, & mix well. To assemble the roll ups here's what to do: Lay 1 lasagna noodle on your table, add table spoon and a half of chicken mixture onto the noodle, spread along the noodle (start from end & roll up), place in greased pan (seam side down), and repeat with remaning noodles.




Meanwhile....

In a medium pot saute the tomato and onion for 5 minutes then add your sauce & 2nd container of ricotta cheese, stir to blend all ingredients, and bring to a boil. Once it's begun boiling turn flame down to a low heat. Simmer for 10-12 mins stiring occasionally so sticking won't occur.

Once sauce is complete remove from heat and pour over roll ups. Place pan in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes depending on oven.



This recipe is a huge hit. Who knew a girl who didn't know a spatula from a slotted spoon could come up with such a delish meal? Not bad eh?




Tid bits from us:

*I strongly recommend you use the Ragu sauce. I've tried it with other sauces and it just doesn't have the same taste.

*You could always add a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan or mozzarella cheese to the top before baking but we didn't bother since there was so much ricotta in the whole dish as is.

*In this dish because it was served with a white sauce we prefer to use olive oil during the boiling process. Whenever you're going to make a pasta dish with red sauce I'd think twice before grabbing for the olive oil simply because for some weird reason the sauce won't stick properly to the noodles.

*Watch the size of your chicken breasts. If you buy small then we would suggest making this recipe with 5 breasts instead of 4.
Also, whenever you can use frozen chicken breasts that come from a bag that you would find in your freezer section at your local grocery store.

*Although I love the white sauce the best, you can use a marinara sauce as well.

*Make sure whenever you're working with frozen spinach thaw it out and then place spinach into clean dish towel. Once in place over your sick give it a good squeeze to release all juices. You don't want that to end up in your roll ups. Otherwise you'd end up with spinach and noodle soup. Not good *shakes head no*



Ma's Spot: I love this dish. Dinah's sauce is a great topping to my roll ups. If you like salad or bread sticks to go along with it then go for it but for us these are very filling on their own.



Well peoples, we have come to the end of this weeks blog. I get sad too. Don't you cry, worry, or fret cause, we'll be back here. Same time, same channel, and everything. What's in store for next week's food liaison? Hmmm...well actually I've got nothing yet BUT fear not our foodie readers it'll be good.
We've gotta head on out and get this place tied down cause as you may have heard, THERE IS A STORM A COMIN'! Be safe guys!



Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma