Cleaner Creamy Pesto Lasagna Rolls

Tonight I decided to finish off that box of lasagna noodles and do some experimenting with sauces.  Making sauces is one area I know I need to branch out in.  I usually stick with your classic tomato based, oil and garlic base or just your plain ole roux based sauce.  Tonight I wanted to do something different than the plain ole pesto I usually make.  Now, when I wasn't eating clean or cleaner I should say, I would use the amazing product cream cheese to make my creamy pesto. Oh how I love cream cheese! Who doesn't? You can make cheesecake, cheese balls, creamy pesto, or just eat it plain.  I can anyway.  Ok, enough about that fatty nasty food.  See what I did there?

Anyways, tonight I decided to experiment with avocado as my "cream cheese" in my pesto.  I know there is a lot of recipes out there that do this sort of thing.  Point is, I never have.  I've never even thought of it honestly until I started back on this cleaner living journey that we are on.  Like I've said before, we use to go all the way "clean" and would fail within 2-3 weeks.  This "cleaner" eating lifestyle is much easier to maintain.  It is still a lifestyle change for a lot of people, but we are use to these foods.  Ok, enough chatter. 

Ready for the recipe?

Ready for some delicious looking photos that I know will force you into rushing out to the grocery store to make this recipe?  If you made my lasagna from the previous blog, you should have 6-7 whole grain lasagna noodles left.  You should also have about a cup of cottage cheese left if you made the lasagna. Don't throw it out yet!  Pull those babies out.  Here is your opportunity to not waste and get the most bang for your buck. 

Hopefully the photo
is enough to peak your interest into reading the rest of this blog and keep you coming back for more.  It truly is a very tasty and filling meal.

Ingredients:

6 lasagna noodles (whole grain) cooked
4 garlic cloves minced
1 cup of non fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup of skim milk shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves chopped
1 shallot (optional)
1 tbsp. of sunflower oil (or oil of choice)
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup of fresh spinach
1 avocado
1 tbsp. of lemon juice(fresh)
1 tbsp. of dry oregano
1 tbsp. of dry basil
1 tsp. of pepper
(I happened to have some green onions-3, so I threw those in too)
1/4 cup of hot water


Directions:
1st preheat your oven to 350.

Like stated in the ingredients, cook your 6 lasagna noodles.  This recipe can easily be expanded into more lasagna rolls. Just simply use more noodles.  And increase the ingredients as you see fit.  I will say that I had about 1/2 a cup of extra sauce left over.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, 2 minced raw garlic cloves, half of the mozzarella, salt, pepper, dry oregano, & dry basil.

In a small pan, mince your shallot and 2 cloves of the garlic and sauté until soft (about 5 minutes) on medium heat.  Don't burn it or cook until brown, just soften the two.

Now, in a food processor, take the avocado, pit it and scoop it out of the shell, throw it in.  Add the fresh basil, 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of hot water, sunflower oil, the sautéed shallot and garlic, and the green onions if you chose to use them.  Process until smooth and creamy.  Done!

Now, take your noodles, lay them out on a clean surface(I used a cookie sheet).  Have your casserole dish sitting next to you ready to put the rolled lasagna noodles in. Ok? Now, Spoon a little of the cottage cheese mixture on each noodle until all the mixture is distributed evenly over each noodle.  Add the fresh raw spinach on top of each noodle.  Now, roll the noodles up in a pinwheel.  They should stick together just fine, but if they don't just stick a toothpick in them to hold them. 
Once you get them all rolled up, throw them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Before:

 

After:

Once they are done, pull them out and ladle the sauce over each lasagna roll.  Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese and dig in!



 

I paired our creamy pesto lasagna rolls with a fresh tomato, red onion, and cucumber salad dressed with a little balsamic vinegar.

And "steamed" broccoli.  This is my cheater way of lightly cooking broccoli.  Just put your vegetable in enough water to cover it, and microwave in a porcelain or glass bowl for 5 minutes. Done! Easy Breezy.  Be easy on yourself sometimes :)

Finished product.  I also steamed an artichoke because they are our favorite to pair with any meal.  Like all the recipes I post, I encourage you to branch out and try this one.  It is absolutely delicious! 

This entire plate of food comes in at about 400 calories.  You can't beat that.  Once you finish this goodness, sit back and enjoy yourself one of the oat chocolate chip cookies I gave you a recipe for! :)
Cheers! ~Amanda