Pesto Lasagna Rolls

This was a typical VCK "we have stuff in the fridge that needs to be used up so what can I make?" meal. I had five extra whole wheat lasagna noodles leftover from the last time I made lasagna. And really, you can't make a whole lasagna with five noodles. I also had some ricotta cheese and some tomato sauce, apparently. So, I concocted a new specialty: lasagna rolls! Served with a salad, it was a well-balanced, tasty meal that used up a lot of stuff in the fridge.



I started off by boiling the lasagna noodles 'til al dente, about 10 minutes or so. Then I spread each noodle with ricotta cheese and a layer of pesto.*


Some of my favorite things all together: pesto, cheese, pasta, Cookie Monster.


After the noodles were filled, I rolled them up and placed them seam-side down into a little individual baking dish.


Then I must've dumped some tomato sauce over the top and grated on some parmesan cheese. I don't remember doing this, but it was a few weeks ago. Plus, it sounds like something I would do. The sauce had probably been sitting in the fridge for a while and screamed, "Use me! I taste delicious! I will go with your pasta dish quite well!" when I opened the fridge door. And really, how can you refuse a desperate cry like that? So I used the tomato sauce.

I then baked them at a moderate temp--probably 350 or so, 'til they warmed through and the cheese melted.


Here is the salad I served alongside the pasta. I can't remember what I put in it. But let's look at this photo and play a fun game called "Guess What's in this Salad." It'll be fun, I promise.

Ok, it looks like we have the following in this VCK salad: spinach, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado and pepperoncini. Hey, that sounds pretty good! I also made a very typical VCK vinaigrette. This is my stand-by dressing. It's a balsamic vinaigrette with mustard. Very simple and it goes with just about anything.

See? Wasn't that game fun?



And this is how the lasagna rolls turned out. Yumilicious, right? Well, you can't tell how they tasted from this picture. But they were good. Trust me.



*So I have a confession to make. Forgive me, cooking gods, for I have sinned. It has been a zillion days since my last confession. For this dish, I used... Well, it's difficult to talk about. I used... a powdered pesto mix. I know this is in bad culinary form, but hey, it's winter, and there's nary a fresh basil leaf to be found. So I bought this mix and added olive oil to it. In a pinch, you gotta do what you gotta do. The dish was delicious, powdered mix or not.
Please don't tell. It'll be our little secret. ;)