Do you ever have those days where you can’t even think about what to make for dinner, let alone find the time or energy to make it? I've been there. In fact, I have days where I would gladly just whip up a big bowl of popcorn for myself, but I think I’d feel a little guilty were I to feed that to my family. It was one of ‘those days’ that led to the creation of this recipe. I call it magic because it’s so fast and easy to make; my kids call it magic because they just love the flavour (and the fact that their mother has not turned into an ogre because she was super stressed out making dinner). You can use homemade or storebought sauce; with or without meat. And here’s a tip: next time you make homemade sauce, especially a vegetarian one, add a handful of dry red lentils to the mixture for protein boost – picky kids (or husbands) won’t even notice them.
Ingredients
3 cups pasta sauce
1/2 cup water
500 g (1 lb) package of ravioli - any flavour you like
454 g container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.
Spread a thin layer of the pasta sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish.
Drizzle 2 tbsp of water over the top (you’ll need the extra liquid to cook the ravioli).
Arrange some of the ravioli on top in a single layer.
Top with half the ricotta, followed by a layer of sauce and 2 more tbsp of water.
Repeat the ravioli, ricotta, sauce and water layers.
Top with one more layer of ravioli, one more layer of sauce and water, then sprinkle mozzarella over top. Cover dish with a lid or foil.
Bake 30 minutes then remove cover and bake 5 minutes more. If using frozen ravioli, increase initial cooking time by 5 minutes.
Note that you can even assemble this meal ahead of time and tuck it in the fridge until you're ready to pop it in the oven. If you do that, drizzle another two tablespoons of water over the dish right before you bake it.
Serves 4.
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