Ravioli Ideas

Ravioli is a super easy meal - boil it, put some sauce on top and there you have it:  dinner.  I like to use it in a couple of different ways - as a base for other pasta preparations and as a lasagna short cut.  The other night, I made the Lemon Shitake Basil Pasta recipe with ravioli (the arugula ravioli from Trader Joe's) instead of noodles.  It added a good flavor and some extra protein from the ricotta.  I've also made this tortellini recipe with ravioli in a pinch.

For lasagna, you have to decide if you want meat (either meat-filled ravioli or cooked sausage or beef between the layers) or spinach (again, spinach ravioli or sauteed spinach between the layers) or just a cheese, noodle & sauce lasagna.

Frozen ravioli works better but if you don't mind it not holding its shape as well (the slices of finished lasagna), fresh is fine too.  You basically layer the ravioli in place of the lasagna noodles and make sure the top layer is sauce and mozzarella cheese.  If you want, between the ravioli layers, you can add vegetables like spinach or meat (cooked sausage or browned ground beef / turkey).

It's easy to keep a bag of frozen ravioli in the freezer or the containers of fresh ravioli usually keep for awhile in the refrigerator!  What other meals have you made using ravioli as a base?