Garlic Ravioli with Squashy Spinach

Every meal ate at great grandmas has to include meat. HAS TO. During the seven hour trip home I wracked my brain trying to remember what was in the pantry and what will need to be eaten straight away. Garlic Ravioli with Squashy Spinach was what I created in my head. It was meatless and hearty, quick and easy, and perfect.

Ingredients:
16 oz bag of cheese ravioli
1 yellow squash, sliced thin
1 zucchini squash, sliced thin
1 bunch of baby spinach
3 oz of rough grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 gloves garlic
salt and pepper

Instructions:
Prepare ravioli, drain, and set aside. Either fresh or frozen varieties will work. When cooking pasta, be sure the water is as salty as the sea for better pasta flavor.

In large pot, melt butter until foamy. Add olive oil, garlic, and squash. Cook till soft. Toss is spinach, cook till soft. Add drained ravioli and toss together. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top directly before serving.

Modification:
None were made as this was my first time making this dish. For the next iteration, a dash of fresh lemon juice and a grate or two of fresh nutmeg would be yummy in the garlic butter sauce. In place of spinach, any green could easily take its place. If replacing spinach with a different green, omit nutmeg.

Notes on Squash:
Squash can be either hit and miss in a meal. If too big, the yellow squash becomes seedy and once cooked, it subsequently becomes soggy. To aide in firm texture, buy squash that is uniform in shape and no larger than say a sausage link or hot dog bun in diameter. If only large seedy squash are available, slice squash down the sides removing only the flesh and leaving the seeds as trash.

Scaled for Likability: Great
This is a 30 minute meal perfect for all any day of the week. With firm squash, the meal reheats for lunch the next day. Frozen ravioli was used for this dish but homemade would have been better. I can't wait to make this again so I can use spinach ravioli instead of cheese and add a splash of lemon juice and nutmeg.

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