I needed another easy dinner tonight since I'm not going grocery shopping until after my kids are in bed tonight. I much prefer going by myself because if I take both kids, the boy insists on getting one of those obnoxious car carts. Have you tried to push one of those around the store? Pain in the ass...especially since you really have to work at not running into things. Or at least I do. So, I try to avoid grocery shopping with both kids at all costs. It was pretty slim pickings around our house, so I had to be a little creative. I was looking for something in the garage freezer and saw a bag of frozen raviolis. Then in my pantry I noticed a packet of an organic pesto sauce I bought recently. Voila! Dinner for tonight was planned. I'm looking forward to trying the pesto mix. Dinner should be super easy to put together...boil water, add raviolis, mix up sauce, stir in some pine nuts (as recommended on the pesto packet), shave some parmesan on top, and then eat. I think I'll heat up some bread to have with it and either some peas or broccoli.
I'll be back tomorrow with a real dinner again!
Showing posts with label ravioli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ravioli. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Raviolis
I'm not having much luck with dinners this week. I had planned on making sausage and peppers tonight along with my own hamburger buns, but my plans went awry. We went to my new Bible study group this morning and then spent the rest of the day with my mom and aunt and saw my dad and grandmas. By the time we got home, it was too late to make my own buns, and we didn't have any others. So that idea got scrapped. I was missing an ingredient for my back-up dinner plan, so that got tossed out the window too. I remembered I had a bag of frozen raviolis in the freezer, so I quickly threw together a pasta sauce to go with those. I loosely based it on the tomato sauce recipe I usually use but changed it up just a bit.
Tomato Sauce
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (the small can)
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes being careful not to burn the garlic. Add in remaining ingredients, let simmer for an hour or more.
*****
I'm so not good at writing out my own recipes. The usual tomato sauce I make calls for water, but I had tomato juice in the pantry for a soup I want to make, so I thought I'd pour in some of that instead. It smells good, so we'll see how it turns out.
I think the sausage and peppers will be slated for tomorrow night. I try to do a crockpot dinner on Wednesday nights, but I had planned on doing a pot roast but have yet to get it out of the freezer, so I don't think that will work. We have a busy day Thursday, so I'll plan on the pot roast then. Plus tomorrow I know I'll have time to make the buns.
*****
The sauce was good. I don't think it was too different in taste than how I usually make it. I ended up adding some sugar because it tasted too acidic and tart and mixed in a bit of water because it seemed really thick. There was quite a bit left, so I'll probably end up freezing it to use some other time. I much prefer making my own sauce instead of buying a jar. It's really inexpensive and you know there aren't a bunch of additives or preservatives.
Tomato Sauce
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (the small can)
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and add onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes being careful not to burn the garlic. Add in remaining ingredients, let simmer for an hour or more.
*****
I'm so not good at writing out my own recipes. The usual tomato sauce I make calls for water, but I had tomato juice in the pantry for a soup I want to make, so I thought I'd pour in some of that instead. It smells good, so we'll see how it turns out.
I think the sausage and peppers will be slated for tomorrow night. I try to do a crockpot dinner on Wednesday nights, but I had planned on doing a pot roast but have yet to get it out of the freezer, so I don't think that will work. We have a busy day Thursday, so I'll plan on the pot roast then. Plus tomorrow I know I'll have time to make the buns.
*****
The sauce was good. I don't think it was too different in taste than how I usually make it. I ended up adding some sugar because it tasted too acidic and tart and mixed in a bit of water because it seemed really thick. There was quite a bit left, so I'll probably end up freezing it to use some other time. I much prefer making my own sauce instead of buying a jar. It's really inexpensive and you know there aren't a bunch of additives or preservatives.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ravioli in Brown Butter Sauce
Ah, Giada. I love you even though you're so skinny. And really that's just me being jealous because deep down I know I'll never, ever, ever be that skinny. Especially if I consistently cooked like she does. My friend Jen B. always says you shouldn't trust a skinny cook, but I think Giada is the exception.
I used some Christmas money to beef up my cookbook collection...like it really needed beefing up. One that I bought is Giada's "Everyday Italian." Flipping through it I can't WAIT to make a lot of the stuff. There's a ton of yummy sounding recipes. This recipe caught my eye because I have a bag of frozen raviolis in my freezer I've been wanting to use for something (it's from Costco and taking up quite a bit of space), and she mentioned this is a great sauce for raviolis. Plus I heart brown butter. My friend Danielle brought us spaghetti with cheese and brown butter (like they make at Spaghetti Factory) after the baby was born, and it was so good. Brown butter is just so tasty, and I love how it smells. Yum.
Brown Butter Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 fresh sage leaves (torn into pieces) or 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
In a large, heavy frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat until pale golden, about 4 minutes. Add the sage or basil leaves and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the nutmeg. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and serve.
*****
This is my first time using fresh sage. I'm excited to try it. I was tempted to make it with basil, but I thought I'd branch out a little and expand my horizons. I forgot to buy whole nutmeg, so I'll just have to use a sprinkle of the stuff I have on hand.
*****
Mmmmm...this was yummy. Jen was right in her comment about fresh sage--I did want to rub it on my face. It was so soft. It didn't smell anything like dried sage, which always reminds me of my grandma's stuffing for Thanksgiving. It almost smelled like a Christmas tree. I think I let the butter cook a little too long, but it was still really good. I was kind of tempted to lick the pan if it hadn't still been hot. I'd like to make this more often, but it was pretty decadent, so I think it will be a once in awhile dish. But it was super easy and definitely worth making again. Once again, Giada comes through!
I used some Christmas money to beef up my cookbook collection...like it really needed beefing up. One that I bought is Giada's "Everyday Italian." Flipping through it I can't WAIT to make a lot of the stuff. There's a ton of yummy sounding recipes. This recipe caught my eye because I have a bag of frozen raviolis in my freezer I've been wanting to use for something (it's from Costco and taking up quite a bit of space), and she mentioned this is a great sauce for raviolis. Plus I heart brown butter. My friend Danielle brought us spaghetti with cheese and brown butter (like they make at Spaghetti Factory) after the baby was born, and it was so good. Brown butter is just so tasty, and I love how it smells. Yum.
Brown Butter Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 fresh sage leaves (torn into pieces) or 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
In a large, heavy frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat until pale golden, about 4 minutes. Add the sage or basil leaves and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the nutmeg. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and serve.
*****
This is my first time using fresh sage. I'm excited to try it. I was tempted to make it with basil, but I thought I'd branch out a little and expand my horizons. I forgot to buy whole nutmeg, so I'll just have to use a sprinkle of the stuff I have on hand.
*****
Mmmmm...this was yummy. Jen was right in her comment about fresh sage--I did want to rub it on my face. It was so soft. It didn't smell anything like dried sage, which always reminds me of my grandma's stuffing for Thanksgiving. It almost smelled like a Christmas tree. I think I let the butter cook a little too long, but it was still really good. I was kind of tempted to lick the pan if it hadn't still been hot. I'd like to make this more often, but it was pretty decadent, so I think it will be a once in awhile dish. But it was super easy and definitely worth making again. Once again, Giada comes through!
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