Pizza Lasagna Rolls

I made these for my husband after my pizza chicken was such a success. Eric loved them (there was little doubt that he wouldn't) so we now have another pizza dish to add to our repertoire.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
8 lasagna noddles, cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water
3 cups marinara sauce (pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce would also work)
1 egg
1 1/4 part-skim ricotta
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divide
1 tablespoon dried parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
40-50 slices of pepperoni (thicker slices work best)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 7x11-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread about 1/2 cup pizza sauce on the bottom of the pan.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of the cheese filling along each lasagna noodle. Place 5 or 6 pepperonis on each noodle. Roll up the noodles and place in the baking dish, seam side down.

Pour remaining sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup Parmsean over the top of the dish.

Cover the bakingdish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pizza Recipes:
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-dried Tomato Pizza 
Pizza Inspired Chicken
The Pizza Quiche
Pizza Zucchini Boats
Pull-Apart Pizza French Bread

Spinach Balls with a Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce

Christmas tree in front of the State Capitol in Lansing, MI

This past Christmas I hosted my first Christmas dinner! It was me and Eric, my parents, his parents, and his grandma. Seven people. I've cooked for more, but never for a special occasion like Christmas. Even though I love to cook, I will admit I was a little nervous and a little overwhelmed. I was testing out several new recipes and I'd never cooked a ham before. But I have to say, everything came together perfectly. Not just the food, but the company. Eric's grandma was smiling and glowing (she told me that she didn't remember the last time she spent Christmas outside of her own home). Our dads were gabbing and so were our moms. And they were all vying for the dog's attention. Arya just has that effect on people.

I prepared chocolate covered cranberries, bacon and cheese deviled eggs, and these spinach balls for appetizers. I had made the other two recipes before (totally addicted to chocolate covered cranberries) but the spinach balls were a first. I can't even begin to tell you how good there were. I can't wait to make them again. Both Eric and I were keeping our fingers crossed that there would be some leftovers so we could munch on them later. And there were, just not as many as we have liked.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Spinach Balls
1 10-ounce pack of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (making sure spinach is well drained is very
        important)
2 tablespoon onion, minced
1 heaping cup stuffing with herbs
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
hot sauce, to taste

Directions:
Spinach Balls
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bow, mix all the ingredients together until they are well combined. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheet.  

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms of the balls are lightly brown. Makes approximately 30 balls. Serve warm.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
Pour tomato sauce in a bowl, add hot sauce to taste. We like things spicy around here and added quite a bit.

I spent the five days before Christmas baking and cooking in preparation. I made these on Christmas Eve, put then in the fridge over night then popped them back in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Sadly, things were so hectic Christmas morning/afternoon, I forgot to take pictures of my food. So I don't have a picture of the sauce. But both my mom and my mother-in-law commented more than once how much the sauce complimented the balls.

Dinner table

Dessert table

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Cream Cheese Rangoons
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Jalapeno Popper Wontons
Parmesan Zucchini Bites
Snowflake Tortilla Chips