Kate's Toasted Ravioli

My sister-in-law, Kate, is not only the loveliest woman ever to grace my brother's romantic path, but she is also a very fine cook. A few years ago, she shared this recipe with me, and it quickly became one of our family's staple meals.

Kate's Toasted Ravioli

Frozen Ravioli (whatever kind you like)
Breadcrumbs
Grated Parmesan
Milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a shallow dish with breadcrumbs and mix in a generous sprinkling of Parmesan. Fill another dish with milk. Dip raviolis one at a time in the milk, then breadcrumbs, pressing down on them to coat with crumbs. No need to thaw the raviolis first. They're much easier to handle when they're still frozen.

TIP: Use one hand to grab the ravioli from the bag, dip, and drop into the milk. Then use the other hand to scoop, cover, and press breadcrumbs. This will eliminate the infamous "club fingers" that will inevitably come with messy wet breading procedures.



Place the coated ravioli onto a lightly sprayed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees. Bake time varies depending on the size of your ravioli. It may only take 15 minutes, but it might take up to 25.

Start with 10 minutes, then check them. You're looking for a nice golden brown color. You'll need to flip halfway through the cooking time, so be sure to keep an eye on them. (They don't burn super easy though, so don't get TOO stressed out about it.) As Kate told me, "You'll know they're ready when they start oozing filling."

Serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce, whatever you like to do. I served mine last night with a mushroom spaghetti sauce with ground beef and onions added.

Tricia's Angel Hair Pasta & Zucchini

Tonight we tried out Tricia's Angel Hair pasta and zucchini recipe.

Of course, I had to modify it - Heaven forbid I ever follow a recipe to a T. ;o)

* I used spaghetti noodles instead of angel hair because that's what we had.

* Couldn't find any fresh Parmesan at the store, so I substituted with a couple Tbsp. of grated parm. and a big handful of shredded mozzarella. I had to add extra liquid and did so with milk.

* Added: sauteed mushrooms and onions, parsley, sliced sweet peppers, garlic salt and pepper.

I was tempted to make this with shrimp or crab meat after I got started, but my husband is decidedly anti-seafood (esp. shellfish). I think it would be really good with it though.

Thanks for the recipe, Tricia! It was so nice to have something different for a change. And it tasted wonderful!

Angel Hair Pasta ala Weight Family

Here's one I just received from Tricia, one of our Fooblog fans... Sounds fabulous! :o)

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TRICIA SAID: Try it-you might like it! Made it off the cuff (and the FAMILY went wild), so you'll have to figure out how much this-and-that to use!

1 Package Angel Hair Pasta
2 Med. Zucchini
2 Med. Tomatoes
Sandwich Ham cut into strips (use as much as YOU like)
1 Container Ricotta Cheese
1 Container Parmesan Cheese

Cook Angel Hair Pasta according to package.
Grate zucchini with the fat holes of a vegetable grater.
Add zucchini to Spaghetti for the last three minutes of boiling.

Before you empty pasta/zucchini into strainer, scoop out 1/2 cup of the spaghetti water. (You need this to thicken the cheese).

Put Ricotta and Parmesan in pan, add just enough left over spaghetti water to make a creamy sauce. (You should not need to use the entire 1/2 cup).

Add Pasta and zucchini. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

Dice tomatoes. Add tomatoes and Ham to mixtures and heat through. Top with Parmesan and Serve.

Hope you like it! Tricia PS. Love the FOO-Keep it up!

Gale's Lasagna Filling

Tonight I'm making a dish of lasagna. It's always a great way to get rid of your leftover cottage cheese, isn't it? Who cares if it's a week expired - it's getting cooked, right? ;o)

I'm using a modified version of a recipe that Gale, my friend from the office, used for a Ladies Luncheon a couple years ago. The recipe is basically the same as every other lasagna recipe, but for hers, the white filling at the top goes like this:

6 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
4 diced scallions

This is how I modified it:
8 oz. cream cheese (when it comes to cream cheese - the more the merrier, I say!)
1 c. cottage cheese (ran out of sour cream)
1 beaten egg (just cause that's how I always do it)
drained and squeezed chopped spinach (for added nutrition and to make it look "gourmet")

I used some leftover spaghetti sauce from last night. I made this wild recipe that calls for cinnamon and cocoa powder! There was only about a cup left though, so I added a 14.5 oz. can of Italian-style diced tomatoes and a small can of tomato sauce. It made the perfect amount. Now the lasagna is congealing on the stove until we're all ready to eat.