Skip to main content

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.


Popular posts from this blog

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup.  Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too.  Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup  are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water.  Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender.  Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

Way Too Rich, Extra Heavy Cheesecake

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001.  Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old.  Eek.   Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake.  In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years.  That is just too long.  Too long.  Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven.  A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature.  If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix.  Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

The Great Freeze 2021 Vegetable Broth

Good grief, this cold snap.  Every year I wish and wish for cold weather so this table can eat soups without melting.  Well this year winter came and came with a vengeance.  Two days below freezing with no water, no power, no internet/cell service.  It's the dark ages.  If you need more info just search for Texas Grid Failure 2021 .  Yes, this tragic affair has its own wiki page.  Good grief. Did you know that if temperatures drop below freezing for too long, refrigerators will not keep your cold stuff from freezing?  Well, they don't.  And with 17℉ temps, this tables fridge contents froze.  What to do with a fridge full of frozen fresh veggies? Veggie stock. No recipe was used, it was just all the veggies in the fridge (white and yellow onions, garlic, jalapeno, green onions, three roma tomatoes, celery, two russet potatoes, seven carrots, and a red and green bell pepper) salt and pepper, and enough water to just touch the top layer of veggies.  I did not want the veggies floa