Cheese Lovers Pasta Roll-Ups

1 egg, beaten

1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese

2 c. shredded italian cheese blend

4 green onions, chopped

1 T. Italian seasoning

1 jar (26 oz) pasta sauce, divided (my family loves Ragu Chunky Garden Comination)

16 lasagna noodles
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375. Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended. Spread 1/2 c. of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 Tbsp. cheese mixture. Roll each noodle. Place the noodles seam side down in baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce and parmesan. Cover. Bake 40-50 minutes or until heated through. Uncover for the last 10 minutes.

*This recipe comes from the Kraft Food and Family magazine.

**This recipe took me about 30 minutes to put together. I made it a few hours ahead of time and placed it in the refridgerator until I was ready to cook it. The magazine gives directions for refridgerating up to 24 hours or freezing for up to 1 month. Really only difference is that it may take slightly longer to cook and if you freeze it, you need to thaw it before cooking it. A person could easily add ground meat to the cheese mixture if desired. This is a huge dish. Could easly feed a family of 6!

***A note about the roll-ups: Cook the noodles so they are al dente (soft, but still firm). I added some olive oil to the cooking water to keep the noodles from sticking. When I did the roll-ups, I place three noodles on waxed paper and eye-balled the amount of cheese (it came out perfect). I used my fingers to spread the cheese out and then rolled them and placed them in the pan. It worked great!

Mexican Casserole

2 c. diced chicken

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground corriander

2 T. cilantro

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can (4.5 oz) green chilies (drained)

1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce

8 corn tortillas

2 c. shredded cheese

8 oz. sour cream

Preheat oven to 375. Saute chicken with cumin and corriander. Put into medium bowl. Stir in beans, cilantro, and chilis. Spread 1/2 of the sauce over the bottom of an 11x7 glass baking dish. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the chicken mixture over the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat the layers (minus the cheese). COVER and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, dot with sour cream and cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 min and serve.

*I found this recipe online when looking for something to use enchilada sauce with (without making actual enchiladas). It was really easy and very yummy. I did not put the sour cream on during the baking process. I also found that it took only a couple minutes for the cheese to melt (not the 5-10 minutes suggested). My family gobbled this up (including my 2 year old).

Quick Pizza Bread Sticks

1 (10 oz) package refridgerated pizza dough
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 (8oz) jar pizza sauce, warmed

Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Unroll pizza dough and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Using your hands, press the dough into a 12x9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the butter.

In a small bowl stir together the cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper. Sprinkle mixure over dough. Using a sharp knife, cut dough crosswise into 12-inch strips. Cut dough in half lengthwise to make 24 strips.

Bake at 425 for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warm pizza sauce. Makes 24 bread sticks.

*My family loved these. My 2 year old liked that he could dip them (anything he can "dip", he loves right now). I didn't have enough Parmesan cheese so I sprinkled on some mozzarella too.

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book.