At the end of August I become, what I endearingly call, a soccer widow. I lose my husband, the coach, to practices and games, and our 2-year-old and I are left to our own devices. For the most part it’s not a big deal, but it gets tricky at dinnertime.

On a good day I’m able to leave work, run home, get the car, pick him up from day care and get back home by 5:30 p.m. Which leaves a grand total of 15 or so minutes for me to make dinner and still have him eating on schedule. Anyone with young children knows how important those schedules are. You get too far off track and you’re just going to pay for it later. And that’s not fun on a Tuesday night.

Too many guilt-inducing peanut butter and banana sandwiches had me thumbing through my cookbooks for inspiration, and I stumbled upon this wonderful creation — lasagna rolls.

Carbohydrate, vegetable, protein and dairy all wrapped up in yummy, perfectly porportioned rolls that I can make and freeze ahead of time. So when I run home to get the car, I can preheat my oven and pop one in. Our son gets a warm, nutritious meal on time, and I feel like I scored one for the home team!

Lasagna rolls

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles (cook 1 extra in case they tear)

• 1 egg

• 16 ounces part skim ricotta cheese

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup spinach or broccoli, cooked and finely chopped

(I used frozen, thawed and drained well)

• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

When ready to bake:

• 1 cup marinara sauce

• Sprinkling shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan cheese

 

Preparation

1. Cook lasagna noodles in salted water 2 minutes less than package directions call for and rinse with cold water.

2. In a bowl whisk the egg, ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, Italian herbs, salt, 1/2 cup mozzarella and broccoli or spinach to combine.

3. Spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture on each lasagna noodle and roll up jelly roll style.

4. Place the lasagna rolls seam side down on a cookie sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes.

5. Place rolls in freezer bag for future use.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7. Cover bottom of small baking dish with 1/2 cup marinara sauce.

8. Place frozen lasagna roll seam side down in baking dish, top with remaining marinara sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

10. Serve.