Bechamel Creamy Goodness Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour (I have even used whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups reduced fat milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tsp of minced garlic

Lasagna Muffins:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb italian sausage (out of casing)
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 package mandoo wrappers (about 15)
1 package frozen spinach (thawed)

Depending on how many wrappers you have you can make 14-18 with this recipe. Defrost spinach. If you need to you can nuke it in the microwave to defrost. Drain out excess water. I usually just squeeze out the excess water. Be sure to do this; if not, your lasagna will be very watery.

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

To make the sauce for the bottom of the lasagna muffins: Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk in the milk until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the salt, pepper, and 1 tsp of minced garlic.

At the same time I also make the meat sauce. Brown tsp of minced garlic, italian sausage, and ground beef. Break up the meat.  Add salt and pepper. Once meat is cooked through, add 1 cup of the marinara sauce. Let simmer for 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Now it’s time to assemble the lasagna muffins!!  If you have not done so already add at least a spoonful of the bechamel sauce to the bottom of each muffin tin – only a thin layer is needed. Place a mandoo wrapper in each muffin tin. Begin layering. I like to put the spinach first, then cheese, then a spoonful of cottage cheese, spoonful of ground meat with marinara, and a nice layer of cheese on the top. You can place everything in the order that you choose. Be sure to load them up so you have plenty of filling! After a layer or two I will push the filling to the bottom of the muffin tin. Itʻs fine if the filling goes over the mandoo wrappers.  Be sure that the top layer is shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes if you can wait that long! These also probably freeze very well.

Caveat: If you want to go lighter or are a little lazy you can also use marinara sauce instead of the bechamel sauce, but the salty creamy goodness at the bottom of the lasagna muffins is fantastic! I have to thank my good friend Ilima and her mother-in-law for inspiring this recipe. She made some for me for lunch one day using a jumbo muffin tin. I only had a regular size muffin tin and added spinach and also the bechamel sauce to the recipe she inspired. This is also a great item to bring for potluck.

Oh and also, be sure to take a good look at the mandoo wrappers to make sure they arenʻt moldy when you purchase them.  The second time I tried this recipe I bought some from Don Quixote and had everything prepped ready to go, bechamel sauce in the muffin tins, meat sauce cooked – and the mandoo wrappers were moldy!! It was so disappointing so be sure to double check your mandoo wrapper before you begin making the lasagna muffins. From now on, I will always keep a spare package of mandoo wrappers in the freezer.

(Yes, the exclamation on the title of recipe was necessary. I am a fan of these little bites of onoliciousness 😉 )