I adore lasagna (as does my husband who would be happy if I served it every night). However, I do not love the idea of using a pound of beef, a pound of sausage, and a pallet of cheese. Lasagna, heavenly as it is, brings tears to my eyes when I remember that it’s so unhealthy. Solution: lasagna rollups- a great alternative that takes far less time to make. I don’t even bother with eggs in this and it tastes delicious.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE LASAGNA ROLLUPS

makes 6

• 7-8 lasagna noodles (always make a couple extra in case one gets destroyed)
• 1 jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi marinara is my all-time favorite)
• 1 8-oz. container ricotta cheese
• 1 12-oz. package chicken sausage
• 1 8-oz bag shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain. Lay out six noodles and pat dry with paper towel. Cut each chicken sausage in half lengthwise, and again in half crosswise. Top each noodle as follows:

• 1 tbsp. sauce
• 1 tbsp. ricotta
• 2 tsp. parmesan
• 2 tbsp. mozzarella
• 1/2 chicken sausage link, cut as shown

Roll up each noodle and place into a baking dish. Pour additional sauce over the top of each rollup, and sprinkle  1/2 cup mozzarella over the whole dish. (I used a cake pan that had seen better days, and it held the rollups nicely.) Cover with aluminum foil; try to prevent the foil touching the cheese by “tenting” it over the baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until ooey-gooey. These may look small, but I can never eat more than one- no matter how hard I try!