Ravioli in Spinach Tomato Sauce and a Student Cook Experiment
November 08, 2009 - by Jennifer Derri
This is a quick pasta dish that I served with chicken cutlets for a delicious and easy Italian meal! I found this recipe at The Bake-off Flunkie, and it is exactly the kind of quick dinner recipe I have been in need of lately.
With an internship, schoolwork, and graduate school applications (in addition to dinner) on my plate, this is an exciting semester! Lately, my husband and I haven’t been sitting down to dinner until after nine o’clock, and often times, I will admit, that dinner is take-out. Tsk, tsk, I know. Not only is this expensive, it usually doesn’t taste great, and it is horrible for my diet!
So, in an attempt to combat this quickly forming bad habit, this week I will be undertaking a student cook experiment: I will be cooking our evening meals in the morning! This idea is inspired by the advice of some of my co-workers, who claim waking up thirty minutes earlier in the morning is totally worth arriving home at night to find dinner waiting. Please check back for the results of this experiment next week!
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 large tomatoes, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 package ravioli, frozen
- 2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese
Combine chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Add the ravioli. Cover and cook about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the ravioli is done.
Stir in the spinach and sugar; cover and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Tips from a student cook…
I used frozen ravioli here because I often find it on sale in the grocery store for just a little over a dollar. Perhaps one day I will learn how to make ravioli from scratch, but for now, the frozen variety will do. I was surprised to sugar in the ingredients list. Who knew it would bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes so beautifully. The original recipe uses canned diced tomatoes, but I find buying fresh tomatoes is cheaper. The only additional requirement is chopping. In my early morning cooking experiment this week, I plan to do all prep work like this the night before so that I can just throw everything together the next morning. This may take time, but it also saves money, tastes fresher, and is healthier!
