Ravioli Bake (a dish that tastes a lot like lasagna, that you can make in a fraction of the time)

Sometime last year I scanned through one of the last issues that I got the Kraft magazine. I remembered seeing a recipe that used layers of ravioli in some sort of casserole type thing. I thought "Hmmmm interesting". Now stick with me on this. I know it seems a little Semi-Ho-ish*, I do know this. Translation: Semi-Ho: Anything that Sandra Lee would make, match her drapery and tablecloth to and accompany a big ole pitcher of booze to go along with. If you've ever watched Sandra you know what I'm talking about. Nuff said.

I forgot about that recipe until I was roaming the aisles at my local Sam's Club looking for some dinner inspiration. Lemme tell ya, Sam's is usually not the place that inspires me.

We've been eating a lot less meat lately since we decided to buy only organic or locally raised meat and poultry, so new meatless dishes are always welcome.

I passed by the frozen food section, and while I was repeatably telling Evan "no were not buying those frozen taquitos" I spotted some jumbo cheese ravioli. "I can work with those" I thought.

So I boiled the ravioli just until they floated, then I strained them and ran cold water over them to stop the cooking process. They were very, very al dente.

I put a little sauce in the bottom of the pan, added in a layer of ravioli, a little mozzarella cheese, a little sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Repeated the layers, ending up with sauce on the the top. Popped it into a 350 oven and BINGO! A quick and easy dish that really did taste like lasagna.

This is how one of the layers looked in the baking dish.



I served it with a nice big salad and some fresh Italian bread. The kids and the adults loved it! This huge dish (I used all 4 pounds of the ravioli in my package) served 4 adults and 3 hungry teenagers with just a tiny bit left over. It was a huge hit.



I would recommend using the jumbo ravioli and not the regular squares ones. I think the smaller ones have a tendency break more easily and leak all the cheesy goodness.

Even though it's pretty simple, here's the recipe.

Ravioli Bake
1 package cheese ravioli (I used a 4 pound pkg of jumbo's from Sam's, if you're cooking for a smaller crowd, adjust accordingly)
Spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Boil the ravioli just until they begin to float to the top of the water. As soon as you see them float, get them out of the water, into a strainer and run some cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Place some sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish and start layering. Ravioli, then some mozzarella, a little more sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Like I said, I made a huge dish, I was cooking for a crowd so I was up to four layers at the end.

End with a top layer of sauce. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella and Parmesan on top, cover with foil, and bake approximately 30 minutes in a 350 oven, or until hot and bubbly. I take the foil off the last 10 minutes or so. Let it sit 10 minutes then dig in.

Wordless Wednesday~

Swedish Visiting Cake

Our wireless router hasn't been working over the past week. John pulled the computer desk away from the wall and along with it came a few of my cookbooks that were on a bookshelf near the desk. The biggest and heaviest of the them being Dorie Greenspan's Baking From my Home to Yours. One of my absolute favorite cookbooks.

I picked it up and put it on the kitchen table while John wrestled with the jumble of wires behind the desk. I started to flip through all the pretty pastel post-it notes that were placed there when I first got the book. I don't know if you're like me, but when I get a new cookbook I devour it for a bit. I take it to bed with me. I lug it back and forth to work and home, and I always have a little pack of post-its to bookmark everything I want to make first. I have every intention at the time of strategically cooking or baking everything in a timely manner, and then I get another cookbook and it all starts over again.

I had bookmarked this cake mostly I remember because of the name. It just sounded like a nice cake to make. Homey and comforting. Then I read that Dories friend Ingela Helgesson first brought her this cake and that just sent me over the top. Ingela Helgesson. What a name. I'd happily partake of any dessert she's making.

Swedish Visiting Cake
From Baking, From My Home to Yours)
Makes 8 to 10 servings
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
About 1/4 cup sliced almonds (blanched or not)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, a 9-inch cake pan or even a pie pan.

Pour the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the zest and blend the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and the extracts. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Scatter the sliced almonds over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar (I used Demerara sugar for a little more rustic look). If you're using a cake or pie pan, place the pan on a baking sheet.

Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden and a little crisp on the outside; the inside will remain moist. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides and bottom of the cake to loosen it. You can serve the cake warm or cooled, directly from the skillet or turned out onto a serving plate.



I made my cake in my cast iron skillet. I think everything tastes just a little bit better in cast iron. This cake was moist on the inside with a golden crunch on the outside. So delicious and so easy to make. You don't need a hand mixer, just a whisk and a spatula. When I was finished all I had to wash one bowl filled with a few utensils. That's my kinda cake.

This is one of those recipes that I'll be making again and again.

Wordless Wednesday~

Cheesy Ham & Pasta Bake

I'm happy to report that after quite a few days of doing just what I wanted to do, I'm feeling like my mojo is slowly coming back. Can anyone tell me why is it that if I totally ignore my blog for a few days, and don't post anything, I come back and check my stats to find I had tons of hits? Then there are days that I think to myself, oh this recipe is gonna draw them in, and it just fizzles??? I can't figure it out, so I just won't.

I'm experimenting with some recipes. This was one of them. Yes it's another casserole recipe. When will it end? When?

This one was spawned when I went in search of ideas to use up the leftover Easter ham. Don't worry, I'm not eating old moldy ham. I cut up all the leftover ham and froze it.

I stumbled across Recipe Girls Cheesy Baked Penne and thought..hmmm..looks good...sounds good....I think the birth of another casserole is about to take place. I combined her idea with my "go-to" casserole sauce from Kayotic Kitchen. I mereged the two together and ta-da, birth of a new casserole.

The original recipe called for peas. (Evan would just pick them out then I'd have peas rolling all over the table). I substituted in broccoli which is much easier to pick out and I changed up the cheeses. I used shallots and onions for this dish, but if I had leeks I would have used them. I love leeks, but I was leekless. Sad really. Along with the casserole obsession I think I have become a little leek obsessed too.

I decided this would be good to pull together on a Sunday night for a quick and easy Monday night dinner, since Monday dinners seem to be simple and sometimes blah in my house. I just don't always have the enthusiasm on a Monday that I have on the weekend.



Cheesy Ham & Pasta Bake
1 pound of penne (or other pasta of your choice), cooked al dente
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly chopped
2 ½ cups broccoli florets
2 cups diced ham
1 – 8oz pkg provolone cheese, sliced
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus a little more for topping)

For the sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons heaping flour
3 cups milk
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
cayenne pepper

Oven to 350. Grease a shallow baking dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. While the pasta is cooking heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook the shallots and onion until they become tender. Add in the broccoli florets, cover and let them steam until slightly tender, but still crunchy.

In a saucepan melt the butter and then add the flour. Cook for a minute and then pour in 2 cups of milk whisking out any lumps. Bring to a boil and add the remaining cup of milk. Whisk in the mustard and salt and simmer for a few more minutes. Finish the sauce with cayenne pepper (if you want too) and the grated cheese. Stir to combine.

In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with the sauce. Stir in the shallots and onion, broccoli, ham, and cheeses. Pour into the baking dish and sprinkle with a little more cheddar (if you want). Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until sauce is bubbling around the edges and the center is hot (about 10 minutes more). Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

My Mojo has stalled.

Sometimes this little thing we call life gets in the way of the blog and I find myself with less time to post. New recipes are cast aside for a bit. All those "must trys" are set by the wayside. So I haven't been making much of anything new in the kitchen. I'm still cooking for my family and the never ending trail of teenagers that pass though. I've been making some of the old stand-bys, stuff I've already posted, and stuff that really doesn't merit posting. I'm sure my pasta and salad dinners wouldn't thrill anyone.

I'm not apologizing for the slack off. I will not be one of those bloggers who feels the need to post X amount a times a week, or month. I just kinda go with the flow.

As I posted on Facebook...."I think my Mojos stuck"

I had a few people say to me that when I tell them I'm slacking off, or taking it easy, I'm still constantly on the go, and I am. That's just my nature, so I guess when I'm not running full speed ahead, I feel like my mojo is petering out. It's so hard for me to just be. John says it all the time. Just sit and relax and just be. You don't have to be doing something all the time. But I do.

We are busy with the yard, and garden planning, and the kids and well, just life in general. I've got 3 new birdhouses. I've been busy painting them and getting them ready for some feathery occupants. See I can't stop, lol.

I do have what I hope will be a great cake to "bring out the kid in you" coming up. Lemme just say that one of the ingredients is chocolate cheerios and you can let your imagination run wild.

I'm experimenting and will share soon enough. There I go again!

So bear with me during this crazy time.

I hope all is happy and well in your worlds.

I'm taking nice deep breaths and trying to remember sometimes I have to just "be".

Wordless Wednesday~ Green & White