Tag Archives: easy dinners

Easy Cheesy Baked Ravioli

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A few months back I joined in the EasyPeasy Link-Up, and of course I HAD to try out some the recipes…Chosen Chaos posted a Ravioli Lasagna that looked beyond Yum!! One problem…we don’t eat red sauce, so here’s my tweaked version of an already delish and easy recipe:

Be sure to try out BOTH versions :)

::Easy Cheesy Baked Raviolis::

1 – 2 bags of frozen cheese raviolis

1 box of frozen chopped spinach – at least semi thawed (Or fresh if you have it…Fresh is always better but I rarely have any on hand)

2 – 4 cups Shredded cheese (mozzarella, Romano, any combination of white chesses)

Alfredo sauce (Homemade or from a jar…I’ll post my recipe it’s easy!)

Salt / Pepper / Garlic / Onion / Italian Seasoning / a spoon or two of basil pesto….whatever spices you like

Italian flavored sausage (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cut sausage into bite sized bits and cook in skillet, if using. In a bowl mix your raviolis (still frozen), spices, Alfredo sauce, and sausage. Pour into your baking dish and spread a layer of spinach on top, top that with your layer of shredded cheese (as much or as little as you’d like). Cover with foil and bake for 45-55 minutes, until the center of your pastas are warm. Uncover and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly – or you can turn on your broiler if you like the cheese crusty, just watch for browning if you use the broiler.

Need a homemade Alfredo sauce??

Melt 4 TB butter over med heat. Whisk in 2 TB flour – continue whisking until well combined. Pour in 1 ½ cups of either whole milk or half and half. Continue whisking for the next 5-6 minutes – until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in ¾ – 1 cup of grated parmesan and cover for at least 5 minutes…..This is a great sauce to make a double batch of, use it the first night with pasta and take the leftover sauce straight from the fridge to the oven when you want to make this ravioli dish.

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Easy Taco Soup

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Remember the Turkey Taco Soup I told you guys about a few posts backs in 10 Ideas For Your Turkey Leftovers? It’s one of my favorite soups because it’s so versatile. I made it tonight using leftover chicken from last nights dinner….. Never let not having all the ingredients deter you from trying a new recipe. Take this recipe for example, it calls for canned corn, but if you only have fresh use it and add a little extra water. Watching calories? You could easily sub the cheddar cheese soup for chicken broth or tomato juice. Want the cheesy flavor but don’t have canned soup? Make a version of your own, just melt Velveta with some milk. No Rotel? Use a can of diced tomatoes and a jalapeño. Don’t like spicy? Just use the diced tomatoes and skip the pepper. Have fresh tomatoes? Dice them up instead. There are so many easy substitutions you can make when cooking, wether it’s to cut calories, accommodate food allergies, or because you don’t have exactly what the recipe calls for on hand. Playing with a recipe to make it your own is one of the best parts of cooking. So here’s a closer look at my Chicken Taco Soup (notice my can of beans isn’t the size called for, I just added an extra pinch of taco seasonings and no one can tell a difference).

Chicken Taco Soup

1 – 15 oz can black beans
1 – 15 oz can pinto beans
1 – 15 oz can corn
1 – 10 oz can cheddar cheese soup
1 – 10 oz can Rotel (or diced tomatoes if you don’t like spicy)
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 cups cooked chicken (Rotesserie, home cooked, or canned all work well)

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Mix all ingredients (juices included) in a medium pan over medium low heat and let simmer for about 20 min.

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Cost: About $8 – And you should get 2-3 meals out a pot of this friending on how you serve it…check out my ideas below

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*Idea* Serve over rice
*Idea* Top with sprinkle cheese and sour cream.
*Idea* Strain and use as an omelet filling
*Idea* Strain and serve with sprinkle cheese an tortillas, taco style
*Idea* Enjoy as a pipping hot bowl of soup
*Idea* When you get to the bottom of the pot and it doesn’t look like there’s enough to feed everyone, strain what’s left and sprinkle on top of chips and cheese, bake at 350 for 10 minutes and you have nachos