Baked Ravioli & Meat Sauce

Photo: Cinnamon Girl

Ingredients

1 pound of Ground Beef (80-85%%)

1 Green Pepper, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch long strips

1 large Yellow Onion, diced

5 large cloves Garlic, minced

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 ounce can tomato paste, 6

2 teaspoons tablespoons Italian Seasoning (If you don’t have the mix use 1 each of

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Sea or Kosher salt

Fresh cracked Pepper

2 bay leaves

28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes

26 ounces Cheese Ravioli, frozen, or fresh, use good quality

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Preparation

Brown the beef and the pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan.

When browned add the tomato paste, Italian seasonings, sugar, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Let cook for a few minutes until the tomato paste is heated through.

Add the crushed tomatoes and a half of the tomato paste can full of water. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Taste and re-season halfway through with salt, pepper and herbs if needed and again before serving.

While the sauce is simmering cook the ravioli just until they begin to rise to the top and float. You do not need to cook them all the way through. Drain and toss with a tablespoon of butter or olive oil.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove bay leaves from sauce. Toss a liberal amount of sauce with ravioli. Reserve any excess sauce for serving.

Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole pan. Sprinkle top with mozzarella. Bake about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Best served with fresh shredded Parmesan, garlic bread, extra sauce and a green salad.

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About

This has all the beloved flavors of lasagna but is a lot quicker and easier to make. Using frozen or fresh cheese ravioli is the time saver. And even though the meat sauce needs a bit of time to prepare it's necessary for making this potentially dull dish delectable. And for giving it a bit of home-made flavor.