Blessed and Healthy: Baked Cheesy Ravioli

Monday, August 4, 2014

Baked Cheesy Ravioli

Ooey goey cheesy goodness.

I had this dish while visiting my dear friend, Lily, in Chicago and I have been making this dish many years after. Thank you for the inspiration!!

This dish is easy to make, and definitely delicious! I buy fresh ravioli at Costco. They sell it as a two pack, so I boil off one pack, and throw the other one in the freezer for later (when I am pulling my hair out, its 5pm and I don't know what to make for dinner!) LIFE. SAVER.

Ingredients:

1 pckg. ravioli (fresh or frozen)

1/2 small onion, diced

8 oz. portabella mushrooms, sliced

4 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

2 handfuls spinach, thinly sliced

2 cups heavy cream

1 clove garlic

3 Tbsp pesto (or to taste)

Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Put pot to boil for ravioli (follow pckg cooking instructions) and preheat oven to 375F

2. Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Add cherry tomatoes, heavy cream, garlic & pesto; let boil for a few minutes. (I do not have spinach in the photos below, but it does add a nice flavor. Add it at the very end when sauce has boiled over and spinach has wilted.)

3. Pour sauce over boiled (and drained) ravioli; gently mix for even distribution.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove foil, load on the cheese and bake an addition 5 minutes uncovered.

**short-cut tip: I always keep pesto and sauteed mushrooms in the freezer and am so so thankful that I do when I need to put together last minute meals! I went into detail on how I do this in my Pesto Rose Mushroom Chicken Pasta If I remember to defrost the mushrooms great, if not then I throw them in the microwave, press the 'defrost' button and I am good to go. The pesto I just chip off a big chunk add it to the sauce it will melt right in!