Cook Once, Eat Twice – part 2
Well Summer is working its way to Fall – leaves are already starting to turn! Kids are going back to school and soon it will be the ol’ refrain: “What’s for dinner?!” Last post, I covered making a quick spaghetti bolognese (meat sauce). This post, I will share the secret (ok, it’s not a secret) but I will share one of my quick dinners. Easy Ravioli Lasagna! I think I first learned about this on the show “The Chew” where Mario Batali tested the recipe to see if it worked and was it any good. So, was it ….
To his surprise, he said it was surprisingly good! If you are looking for something you can put together and throw in the oven – this may fit into your dinner rotation. I like it because you can change it up based on what you have on hand. All you need is Marinara or other pasta sauce, pre-made fresh or frozen raviolis, shredded mozzarella cheese and desired spices. You just really need to know the formula and then, you can make it the way you like.
I will go over the easiest version first.
Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees and gather your 9×13 baking/casserole dish and ingredients. Decide which “flavor” you wish to make — Frozen raviolis it will take longer to bake.
While the oven is preheating, place some of the jarred or pre-made sauce in the bottom of the dish. Really you are just trying to get the bottom covered so spread evenly. Open the package of cheese raviolis and lay them in a single layer across the bottom. Add sauce mostly on the raviolis and ensure they are covered. If you like a zesty flavor, sprinkle some oregano over the sauce on this layer and you can even add a bit of garlic power too. Now, sprinkle shredded cheese over this layer. If you have more raviolis, lay them in another layer, if possible try to place where there are ‘gaps’ so it will cook more even. Now cover with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle generously with cheese for the top. I like to sprinkle a bit more oregano over the top.
So this is super simple! Not quite as easy as ordering pizza but it may be healthier. And, to help win over the picky kids, you can make this using more of the ‘pizza’ flavors. I have made this with cheese raviolis, marinara sauce and to amp up the flavor, added diced green peppers and pepperoni. I use turkey pepperoni to lower the fat and feel like I am being healthier.
Tonight, I tried two kinds of raviolis: cheese and sausage along with cheese and spinach. They were in the freezer and I wanted to reduce the sodium in the dish. So, I heated (to bubbling) the green peppers in some olive oil, added the no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, and the sauce to get it going. I also added the extra spices here to include a bit of black and cayenne pepper. Using the heated sauce will help thaw the frozen raviolis and jump start the baking.
Bake in the middle rack — it should take about 30-45 minutes to get hot and bubbly. If the raviolis are frozen, it may take longer to ensure the middle is heated to the proper safe temperature.
While this is baking, prep a nice salad or some bread for garlic toast. Or, since this dish just needs to be turned around half-way through baking, you can run down and throw a load of laundry in or move it to the dryer. Or do your homework!
If you don’t have any garlic bread but you do have any left over hamburger or hot dog buns from a cookout, don’t let them go to waste. You can butter them and sprinkle with garlic powder and garlic salt. Toast them up on the top rack of the oven the last 10 minutes of “lasagna” baking time.
Let the “lasagna” cool off a few minutes to setup before you cut into it. Two reasons — one so it does cut easier into servings and two, so doesn’t sear the tongue!! The sauce and cheese can be like molten lava!
This is a great dish to have some leftovers or feed a family. It’s easy enough the kids can help put it together which may get them more excited about dinner. The dish can be a bit heavy and hot so probably best for the adults/teenagers to handle putting in/taking it out of the oven. What a great way to get kids involved in making dinner. So with some creativity (or not) this can be an easy, satisfying meal to make and serve. Coming home to having left overs that heat up in the microwave, can make for an easy, quick meal and that is a comforting place to be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Batali
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chew
