Garden Patch Cannelloni

I have a new FAVORITE!! This is going to be in our dinner rotation from now on. I had bought a container of ricotta cheese for a slow cooker version of lasagna. For some reason I kept putting it off worried about how it might turn out. I was thinking in my head about something else that I might want to make instead. I had a container of mushrooms (my favorite veggie) in the fridge and wanted to use them up before they went bad. I found a recipe over at Taste and Tell that gave me a lot of inspiration. I changed things up a bit and am very pleased with the results. This is so good. I almost had some more for dessert tonight. The best thing about this cannelloni is that it is healthy and full of vegetables. It's another great way to get those veggies into your kids. This is also simple to make using softened no-boil lasagna noodles as the cannelloni shells. You just have to roll the filling up inside. So here is a simple vegetarian, and healthy meal to serve your family.

Garden Patch Cannelloni

adapted from Taste and Tell

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 small carrots, shredded

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups fresh spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
15 oz container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box No-Boil Lasagna Noodles

1 container of marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (for topping)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.

Make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the spinach and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the spinach is wilted; remove from heat. While it is cooking, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix in. When the spinach/mushroom mixture is finished cooking, mix it in along with the seasonings. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.  Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes.  (The noodles will not be cooked all the way through, but will finish cooking in the oven.)  Carefully remove them from the water and lay them flat on a wire cooling rack.

To assemble:  Take about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce and spread it in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Spread about 3 Tbsps of the ricotta mixture on the short side of each lasagna noodle roll up the noodle.  Transfer to the baking dish with the seam side down. 

Continue will all of the noodles and filling.  Top with the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese.  Cover pan with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling.  Remove the foil and bake for until the cheese has browned and is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

This post is linked to At Home with Haley & Good Cheap Eats