Meatless Monday...It's Baaaaaaaaack...

I can't believe I am rejoining the world of normal eating again.  I didn't think the sickies would ever go away, and except for the rare sneak attack that sends me running for the bathroom unexpectedly, I'm back to what is somewhat normal.

For the last eight weeks, mealtime has been on Brent's shoulders with me asking, "Is it over yet?" As I huddled on the couch away from the cooking smells.  Imagine his surprise when he walked in the kitchen this weekend to find me at work getting our dinner ready...a REAL dinner!

I decided to try my hand at a semi-homemade ravioli recipe I found on A Small Snippet.  It's a little more work than simply opening up a box of pasta and boiling it, yet still relatively easy with the help of pre-packaged wonton wrappers found in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

I typically can't leave a recipe well-enough alone, so I did add a couple of things to suit our family's tastes.  To the ricotta filling, I added about a cup of chopped fresh spinach to sneak in some veggies, and the kiddos didn't even mind!  Anytime I have a ricotta based dish I usually add just a dash of nutmeg to the ricotta mixture.  It sounds crazy, but it really brings out the flavor of the ricotta, which usually is a bit bland tasting.  Other than those two additions, I pretty much stuck to the recipe.  She did not list measurements for the seasonings in the filling, so I just kind of guessed and 2 tablespoons of each seemed to be about the right amount for our family, but really you can't go wrong with a little more or a little less.

Instead of topping with a heavy sauce, the recipe called for a simple drizzle of olive oil, a few toasted walnuts, some grated Parmesan and a bit of fresh basil.  I totally recommend this!  It was so delicious.  I hope you give it a chance!  I do think the ravioli would also be great with a homemade tomato sauce or even an alfredo, but definitely try it her way first.

This meal was definitely a hit with our family.  Our kids ate it up and then asked for seconds!  The ravioli was even delicious warmed up the next day for lunch.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Semi-Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Toasted Walnuts

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Ingredients:

15 oz. Ricotta

1 C. mozzarella

handful of chopped spinach

2 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. basil
2 Tbsp. parsley
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
dash of nutmeg
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 package of wonton wrappers

Finish With:
chopped toasted walnuts
grated parmesan
fresh basil
drizzle of olive oil

Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
Combine ricotta, mozzarella, spinach, seasonings and olive oil in a bowl.  If mixture seems a bit dry, add a little more olive oil to keep things moist.  Taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking.

Sorry.  I used a good bit of the cheese mixture before remembering to take a pic!

Place a small amount of the cheese mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper.  A teaspoon or slightly more seems to be about the right proportion to keep the filling from oozing out when boiling.

Dip your finger in a bit of water and wet all of the edges, then fold into a triangle and press the edges together to seal.

Drop the ravioli into the boiling water about four or five at a time. I watched until the ravioli rose to the surface and then boiled for about another minute or so until tender. 

Remove the ravioli from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and repeat with remaining ravioli.  I tossed my cooked ravioli with just a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together before serving.

To serve, top the ravioli with your favorite sauce, or with walnuts, basil, parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!