There’s something about May that makes Joey and I busier than normal, it seems. I think it’s just the rushing around of all the end-of-school items that need to get into the newspaper, along with all the excitement of events coming up in the summer that keep us on our toes.
That, unfortunately, means May includes a lot more trips to eat out for dinner, as it’s normally not easy to cook a meal when you and your spouse are both getting home from work at almost 8 p.m.
But the other night ,I actually arrived home at a fairly decent hour, and I excitedly preheated my oven, knowing I had the perfect recipe to make on the fly that could be ready before Joey walked in the door.
The recipe I used is labeled as a “lazy lasagna” by the author, but I will say it’s more like a pasta bake than a lasagna, since it doesn’t really hold together like a lasagna does.
That’s not to say it isn’t awesome, though.
The recipe I got was from the website “InstruPix.” You can find it at https://www.instrupix.com/3-ingredient-ravioli-bake-lazy-lasagna/. The original recipe just calls for the ravioli, sauce and cheese. I added some spices to it, because I tend to think jarred sauce lacks some pizazz, but if you have a favorite one that is spiced the way you like it, skip my additions and just toss those three ingredients together.
Easy Ravioli Bake
Ingredients
- 25 ounce bag frozen ravioli any variety
- 24 ounces marinara or alfredo sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
- Spread about a quarter of the jar of sauce onto the bottom of the dish.
- Arrange ravioli in a single layer on top of the sauce.
- Spread half of the remaining sauce over top of the ravioli and sprinkle the listed spices evenly over the sauce (I didn’t really measure. I just eyeballed it.) Sprinkle on half of the mozzarella.
- Layer on the rest of the ravioli (I didn’t have quite enough to make a full second layer, so I just spaced them out a bit more than I did on the bottom), spread the rest of the sauce on top, and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
- Cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Let the dish cool for about 10 minutes and serve.
Joey was pleasantly surprised to come home to a meal that didn’t come in a styrofoam box, and I was super happy to actually use my kitchen for the first time in about a week.
This also reheated really well as leftovers for lunches later on in the week, which was a nice bonus that we appreciated.
For a family meal, pairing this with some garlic bread and big salad or some veggies would be perfect.
I’m sure Joey and I have several more restaurant meals in our future over the next couple of weeks, but I’m glad I have a quick recipe to use if I have a spare 45 minutes to spend in the kitchen.
And with being able to choose from a wide variety of ravioli fillings and sauces at my local grocery store, I don’t think we’ll get tired of this one any time soon.
This piece first appeared in print on May 9, 2019.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
