It’s the last week of school, and needless to say, it’s crazy busy around here. However, I took some time today to cook one of the Heathen’s favorite dishes: Chicken & Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups. This super-easy meal gets a fast flavor cheat by using ranch dressing mix to season the chicken and spinach filling. I prepped it in the morning so all I had to do was pop it in the oven, and serve it up with a side salad and some garlic bread. And wine. Lots of wine. Did I mention it’s kinda crazy around here right now?

Chicken & Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

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Notes

Ingredients

• 2 (8-ounce) packages Neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 packages powdered ranch dressing mix
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or about 3 cups of cooked chicken)
• 1 (12-ounce) bag of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 box lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions (about 15 noodles)
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup half and half OR 1-1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese and ranch mix until incorporated. Remove about 1/3 cup of this mixture and set aside.
2. Add chicken and spinach to the bowl, stirring until the mixture is well blended.
3. Carefully spread about three to four tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto each noodle. From the narrow end, roll up each noodle and place seam side down into a casserole dish
4. Combine reserved 1/3 cup cream cheese with tomato sauce, whisking until blended. Add half and half OR cream, stirring to combine.
5. Pour sauce over roll-ups and cover the casserole with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over roll-ups and re-cover loosely with foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
   

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Cook’s Notes:

• I cook for 6 people every day, three of which are hungry guys, so I tend to make a lot of food. You can easily half this.
• Don’t forget to add salt to your pasta water. Salting the pasta water separates the good pasta cooks from the not-so-good pasta cooks.
• To make the noodles easy to work with, lay out some foil or parchment paper on the counter and spray with non-stick spray. After you drain the noodles, lay them out in a single layer on the foil to prevent sticking.
• Cook a few extra lasagna noodles. Inevitably, some will tear during the cooking process, so it’s good to have backups.
• Grab a rotisserie chicken to cut the prep time if you want. I cooked a big batch of chicken in my Instant Pot and used the rest to make chicken salad.
• Variation ideas: Add roasted red peppers or sundried tomatoes to the chicken mixture. Top with jarred alfredo sauce instead of the tomato sauce. Substitute chopped cooked shrimp or turkey for the chicken. Garnish with a little chopped basil or parsley.