While I like to make homemade pasta and ravioli on a weekend when we've got more time, we still have to eat dinner Monday - Thursday.  So to everyone's relief, this is a recipe for jazzing up frozen ravioli with a quick sauce.

I'm not sure if I ever really got the need for a really quick and easy dinner before Emma.  The evenings seem to go by in a flash - Mike gets home at 6:30, dinner at 7:00, bath at 7:30 and Emma's in bed at 8:00 (hopefully).  So, my dinner fixing window is somewhere between 6:30 to 7:00 while Mike feeds Emma her dinner of mashed sweet potatoes and pureed pears.

Start to finish this is a 15 minute meal that uses two pans - one for boiling water and the other to saute the sauce.  My dishwasher (Mike) appreciates the quick cleanup! 

Jazzed Up 
Frozen Ravioli
with pancetta, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach & cream


1 bag of frozen ravioli (I used two different kinds- cheese & red pepper)
1/4 pound of pancetta, diced
10 mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can of whole tomatoes, crushed by hand, include juice
1/4 cup of heavy cream
2 cups of spinach
fresh parmesan

Boil water for the ravioli.  The water should should be boiling and ready for the ravioli just as the sauce is ready. 

Start by sautéing the pancetta for 2-3 minutes until it begins to brown.  Add mushrooms and olive oil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds being careful not to burn it. Add in the crushed tomatoes and its juice. Stir in the heavy cream.  Reduce to simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes on low.  Add spinach.  Turn off the heat.
Add ravioli to the boiling water.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, set aside. Drain the ravioli and put it (without rinsing) into the sauce. Toss. If the sauce needs thinning, add a small amount of the reserved pasta water. Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese.




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