Mexican Lasagna Rollups

I haven't talked much about it on my blog, but lately, we've been prepping for a big move next week! With that in mind, I've been trying to go through my pantry to use up all the partial containers and boxes in there. It's been a couple weeks since we made these rollups, but they worked out perfect to use up my partial box of lasagna noodles as well as a pound of hamburger from the freezer!

I originally found this recipe here on www.allrecipes.com. We made a couple of changes to make it our own, but nothing too out of the ordinary. My husband was actually the chef behind the recipe in this case, as he made them while I was at work one evening. I did get a call at work because we didn't have any taco seasoning. I think he ended up using this recipe to make our own. On that note, I may be making our own taco seasoning from now on. We always have all the spices for it, and the flavor was so much better!

Overall, it's a pretty decent recipe. Simple and good. I bet you might even have everything you need in your kitchen already :-)

(Printable Recipe)

Mexican Lasagna Rollups
Adapted from www.allrecipes.com 

Ingredients:
10 uncooked whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 recipe of taco seasoning
1 (26 oz) jar of corn and black bean salsa
1 (16 oz) package of fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the lasagna noodles, about 3-4 at a time, and return to a boil. Cook the noodles uncovered according to package directions or until the pasta is still a little firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain well and set the noodles on a flat surface while preparing the filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spread half the salsa evenly over the bottom of the dish.

Place the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat; sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Cook and stir the meat, breaking it up as it cooks until the meat is brown and cooked through. Drain any fat and place in a large bowl.

Mix cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese into the meat. Lay out a cooked lasagna noodle. Spread about 1/3 cup of the meat-cheese mixture down the length of the noodle. Roll up the noodle lengthwise and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat for the remaining noodles. Spoon the rest of the salsa over the noodles. Cover the dish baking dish with aluminum foil.

Bake until the sauce is hot and bubbling, about 40 minutes. Uncover and spread the shredded cheese over the top of the rollups. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, an additional 8-10 minutes.