Friday Night Meal Makeover: Baked Ravioli

On Friday nights, I like to make fun food - something that is tasty and extra yummy after a long week of school and everything else!  I also prefer to make something sort of easy so I don't have to spend too much time preparing, and can enjoy Friday afternoon with the kids.  This past Friday I tried something new before we headed off to the first football game of the season at the high school (gotta support our youth group students!), and it was a hit.  This Baked Ravioli was so super simple anyone could make it, even my girls out there who claim they can't cook!  Not only it is simple and delicious, but it will make your house smell soooo good while it bakes away!  And it is a budget friendly, filling meal!

You can type "baked ravioli" into your search engine and find several recipes right away.  I browsed some of these then took what our family would like and put this together.

Here's how easy it is to make...

Preheat your oven to 350.  Take two jars of pasta sauce (most recipes call for one but I like saucy pasta).  Spread one jar of sauce on the bottom of a pan (9x13 or 9x11 will be just right).  Take half of a large bag of frozen ravioli (as in, you don't even have to boil it first) and lay the ravioli in a single layer across the sauce.  Spread 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella across the frozen ravioli.  Next, spread another jar of sauce across the first ravioli/cheese layer.  Now take the other half of the frozen ravioli and make another layer.  Spread another 1/2 cup parmesan and 1 cup mozzarella across that layer.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

Dinner will be hot and delicious!

I served it with steamed broccoli, green beans, and ice water.  It made for a super easy, but very tasty, dinner!

This was an especially economical meal because we only ate half of it on Friday night. I thought we would eat the rest of it Saturday evening, but at the last minute Jimmy and I went out on a date (yay!), so we had it Sunday after church.  Pasta is one of the foods I actually love having for leftovers - sometimes it tastes even better the second time!  Jimmy picked up a fresh loaf of bread on the way home from church, I heated the ravioli in the oven, and a hot, yummy lunch was served!

Our family loves ravioli, and this baked version gave it a lasagna type richness and flavor without all the work - we will definitely be making this again soon!