Would you believe that this is the first time I have turned on my lap top in over a week? I know I can't! I'm one of those people that is a compulsive email, facebook, and general internet checker. Even if I don't have time to respond to or interact with what I read, I still constantly check. I guess smart phones and laptops will do that to you.
Last Thursday I hopped on a plane to head home for the holidays; while I was on the plane I watched 5 episodes of Modern Family and watched my battery go from 100% to 2%. Once I landed it was go, go, go right from the start. I never even had time to recharge the battery, literally and figuratively. Unfortunately that means this poor little blog of mine was seriously neglected!
While I haven't had time to make anything new this week, I do have a few aces in my back pocket, including these Chicken Pesto Lasagna Roll-Ups. I wouldn't exactly call this a fast weeknight dinner, but it can certainly be made easier by using store-bought sauce and pesto. Homemade is nice (and often better) but it's all about doing what you can with the time you have.
Chicken Pesto Lasagna Roll-Ups
Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Salt
Pepper
1 cup shredded chicken
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto sauce
6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup of your favorite chunky marinara sauce, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add flour and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Stream in milk, whisking constantly. Add salt and pepper and cook until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the white sauce to the bottom of an 8x8 pan.
In a medium size mixing bowl, stir together the chicken, ricotta, pesto 1/4 cup of mozzarella, salt and pepper, until combined. Spread ~1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture over each lasagna noodle. Roll up the noodles and place seam side down in the 8x8 pan. Top the lasagna rolls with the rest of the white sauce, a spoonful of red sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve on a bed of red sauce with Parmesan cheese for garnish.
Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Sargento