Delish: Spinach Ravioli Lasagna

"The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again."
-George Miller

I love Sunday! It is easily my favorite day of the week. I look forward to relaxing, spending time with family and getting ready for the upcoming week.

Our Sunday's always include family dinner, and normally that means a big meal my mom makes over at my parents house. This week though, my sister and her boyfriend were is Vegas, so we decided to give my mom a break, and had her and my dad to our place for dinner instead!

When I mentioned to my dad that I would be doing dinner this week, he started telling me about something he had seen on the Food Network that he thought I might like... Vegetarian Lasagna made with cheese ravioli in place of lasagna noodles. It sounded so delicious, I decided to try it out.

After a bit of searching on line, I just couldn't find a recipe I was completely in love with, so I decided to make it up. I've made a ton of lasagna over the years, so I basically just substituted the ravioli into it. It turned out great! It was gooey and cheesy and had just the right amount of spinach a spice.

Yum. I could have eaten my weight in this stuff!

Below is the recipe for what I ended up with, but you could easily use your favorite lasagna recipe as a starting point as well.

Spinach and Cheese Ravioli Lasagna

1 package chopped frozen spinach
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups dry cottage cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large "family package" cheese ravioli
2 jars spicy red pepper tomato sauce
2 cups grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta.
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and move oven rack to middle of oven.
-Defrost the spinach for 10 minutes in the microwave.
-While spinach is defrosting, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and the garlic. Saute garlic in oil 1 minute, then sprinkle spinach into the garlic oil and heat through.
-Cook ravioli to al dente, 5 to 6 minutes in salted water and drain pasta well.
-In a baking dish, ladle just enough sauce in the bottom of dish to lightly coat it. Arrange a layer of pasta to cover. Top the pasta with a layer of the spinach, then cottage cheese. Thinly cover with more sauce then top liberally with grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat these layers 3 times, then top your lasagna with the remaining sauce and some grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
-Place into a preheated 425 degree F oven until cheese browns and sauce bubbles, 10 minutes.
-Let stand a few minutes to set before serving.
-Enjoy!

This dish is as easy and quick to make as it delicious! It only took about 15 minutes to prep and then 10 minutes in the oven. It would be great for a quick weeknight meal.

It's such a simple change to everyday lasagna, but I promise you won't be disappointed!


Photo credit: allyou.com