Lasagna Rolls

Okay, so this recipe is one of my favorites, especially for a dinner party! It is rich, flavorful and substantial! I also love it because you can serve it to a house full of meat-eaters and they won't feel "deprived" by being forced to eat vegetarian food! I originally got the recipe from Giada DeLaurentis but I changed quite a few things. She includes pancetta- I substituted artichoke hearts and pine nuts! She includes a cream sauce and I substituted my favorite family alfredo sauce! These are rolls so they serve up much neater!

INGREDIENTS FOR LASAGNA:

1 (15 oz) container of whole milk Ricotta Cheese

1 (10 oz) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed completely dry

1 (7 oz) bag of frozen artichokes, thawed and squeezed completely dry and roughly chopped

1/2 cup of pine nuts

1 cup plus 2 Tbls of parmesan cheese

1 Large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

12 dried lasagna noodles

1 cup of shredded mozzarella or four italian cheese blend

2 cups Alfredo Sauce

1- 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce (You can use pre-made to save time or use homemade...I have done both, Mitch jokes that he cannot tell a difference...thanks a lot babe!!! Whenever I make homemade he says..."wow this is delicious- is this Prego?")

INGREDIENTS FOR ALFREDO SAUCE:

2 cups cream

1/4 cup butter

1/2- 1 cup parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

dash of nutmeg or garlic powder

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

Melt butter in a pan, add the cream; let simmer. Then add the parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic or nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Note: I love this recipe, it is SO easy and really delicious! I use it all the time over anything- tortellini, fettucini, as a pizza sauce! However, when you use it as a sauce for pasta- DO NOT make it ahead of time, pretty much make it when everything else for dinner is done- it takes only like 2 minutes to make and it sets up really fast- too fast! So serve immediately!!!!

TO MAKE THE LASAGNA:

In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, spinach, artichoke hearts, pine nuts, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, egg, 3/4 tsp salt and pepper until blended.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently to prevent noodles from sticking together. Drain. Arrange noodle on baking sheet so they don't stick together.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the alfredo sauce into a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. (Only about 3/4 of the recipe from above)

Lay out noodle, spread about 3 or 4 Tbls of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll the noodles up (like a pinwheel), seam side down, on top of the alfredo sauce. Generously spoon the marinara sauce over each roll, then sprinkle with mozzarella and the remaining 2 Tbls of parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with tin foil- bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown- about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for AT LEAST 10 minutes. (If you serve too soon it tends to get too watery).