Lasagna Roll Ups

I have to say that I LOVE pasta in all its many forms, but my all time favourite has to be lasagna. My son has followed in my footsteps as a lasagna connoisseur and requests it often. Making regular lasagna homemade and from scratch is very time consuming - so many people opt for the store bought frozen variety. Also, if you are only feeding a small family like in my instance, you will find yourself with at least half a casserole dish leftover.

This recipe I am about to share rolls lasagna noodles into individual servings. You can scale the recipe down or increase it if you want to do some big batch cooking and freeze some portions for later use. Either way, it is economical, family friendly, and easy to prepare. So I share with you.....

Lasagna Roll Ups!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup seeded diced tomatoes

1 cup prepared pasta sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh cracked pepper to taste

2 tsp dried italian seasoning

dash cayenne pepper (optional)

1 1/4 cottage cheese, drained (or ricotta)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (optional)

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Set aside in colander.

In a large skillet, fry beef, onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomatoes, and pasta sauce. Add salt, italian seasoning and cayenne; simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon half of the meat sauce into a greased casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and onion powder. Spoon approximately 1/4 cup of cheese filling on each noodle.  Carefully roll up and place seam side down over meat sauce. Top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving

If you double the recipe you can freeze cooked portions in containers for reheating at a later date.