Recipe: Creamy Toasted Ravioli

Last October, I was gifted with a subscription to Cook's Country. While paging through the most recent issue, the recipe for cheesy toasted ravioli with pesto caught my eye, but I didn't have all of the ingredients - including the very important pesto, which I don't think G would even like - so I improvised and came up with a variation I'll call creamy toasted ravioli.

Before the recipe, some advice:

1. After finishing two small helpings, G declared: "My taste buds are full, but my stomach is not." This is rich, people. If you ever make this, you might consider adding some chicken for a little extra protein.

2. Do not eat this meal less than two hours before running 2.5 miles at the gym. It was probably the combination of the gym feeling like a sauna, the significant amount of dairy product being jostled around in my belly, and my less-than-graceful gait that made me feel ill, but it was not pleasant and I do not intend to make that mistake twice.

I bet you're hungry now. ;) Let me introduce you to last night's dinner:


Here's the "formula," as my grandpa would call it:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 package fresh ravioli (I used Trader Joe's 4 cheese and it was perfect for this dish)
1/2 cup cream
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
1-2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Pepper

Formula:

Melt butter in frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ravioli, tossing to coat in butter. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and cream, cover, and cook an additional 4-5 minutes (the ravioli should feel almost tender when touched with a fork). Remove lid and cook until sauce is thickened and ravioli are completely tender, approximately 3-4 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to second highest position. Set broiler to high and warm up the oven.

Pour ravioli and sauce mixture into a broiler-safe dish. Season with pepper and add 3/4 of cheese cubes. Mix. Place tomatoes on top of the ravioli in a single layer. Put remaining cheese on top of the tomatoes. Broil for approximately 3 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.

Mags, I promise to post the crock pot marinara later this week!