Lasagna Rolls with Creamy Marinara

One of the things in my life I really didn’t get from my mom was a love for cooking.  I hear at one time she loved to cook, but as I got older she wasn’t a real big fan of it, or so it seemed.  In fact when I still lived at home I cooked a lot of the time.  I must have gotten it from my Grandma J.  She loves to cook.  Now that’s not to say that my Grandma S wasn’t a fabulous cook but she always claimed she never liked to cook.  Truth be told I went through an “I don’t like to cook” phase.

At Christmas time my mom volunteered to have her work Christmas party at her house.  My mom is so funny because that’s not something she really likes to do so she was a little panicky.  I told her not to worry, I’d come over that Sunday before her party and help her cook.  Their menu included some Tastefully Simple cheese mix balls, Stuffed Mushrooms, Chicken Piccata, Lasagna Rolls, and some kind of a cake for dessert.

I told her not to worry because I’d prep as much of the food as I could.  This was one though, I actually wish they’d have saved me a piece of!

Chicken Lasagna Rolls with Creamy Marinara
adapted from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound lasagna noodles
3 tbsp olive oil
1 pound chicken
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (15 oz) containers ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about 5 oz)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes.  Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the olvie oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and the garlic to the pan and saute until the chicken is cooked through, stirring often.

Remove from the heat and let cool.  Place cooled (to the touch) chicken

in a large bowl with 2 cups of the ricotta cheese, the Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and the nutmeg.

Stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine the marinara sauce with the remaining 1 cup ricotta cheese and stir to combine.

To make the lasagna, cover the bottom of a 9x13x2inch baking dish with 1 cup of the marinara mixture.  Lay 4 noodles flat on a dry work surface.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture evenly over each noodle.  Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat twice more to make 12 lasagna rolls.

Drizzle the rolls with the remaining marinara mixture and top with grated mozzarella.

Bake until the lasagna rolls are heated through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.

I didn’t get any pics of the finished dish or even get to try any… mom came home the night of her party, pulled it out of the fridge so the pan could come to room temp, baked it and they gobbled it right down but I heard some really great reviews 🙂

note:  The original recipe called for shrimp but we subbed in Chicken instead.