Ravioli Bake. by Connie

I hate the name of this dish but I can't think of anther one. Ravioli makes me think of Chef Boyardee or however you spell it...from a can....you dump it and it all slides out in one big gross glob. This is far from that.

This is kid-friendly, fast and really great.

1 bag of frozen 5-cheese ravioli (Wal-mart brand "great value")
1 normal sized jar of tomato sauce of your choice (you can add 1/2 lb of ground beef if you want)
1 medium container of ricotta cheese, again, I use great value
Mozarella cheese (about 3 cups)
Parmesean cheese (fake or real about 1 cup)

You can double this and you will be eating it forever.

Pre-Heat oven to 375. Spray a medium sized casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour half of the sauce in the bottom. Layer ravioli and all cheeses reserving some Mozarella for the top. **Hint: scoop all of the Ricotta that you are going to use in one big glob over the pasta then pick it up with your hands, break it up with your fingers, and sprinkle it around).

Pour remaining pasta sauce and top off with remaining Mozarella. At this point you can cover appropriately and freeze for a later date (the ravioli should still be frozen so this should not be a problem) or you can cook it. I think this is a super meal to take to a friend who might be in need in one way or another.

Bake COVERED in oven about 30 minutes then uncovered for 10 more.

You can spruce this up as much as you like. Add spinach, black olives, herbs, ground beef to the sauce but this is my girls' preferred version. I always buy a couple of boxes of great value garlic Texas Toast to go with it and this is a fast great meal. This is also something the kids can help do.

Mango Chicken - Steph

2-3 cups of rice cooked
2-3 Chicken Breasts cut into thin strips
can of pinapple chunks
one cup of frozen corn
one cup of sliced carrots
one cup of diced mango (fresh or in jars found in cooled produce section)

saute' chicken strips in butter, salt and pepper first. set aside. in a pot combine the can of pinapple chunks w/ juice, corn, carrots, and mango. warm the mixture for just a few minutes. you do not want them cooked only warm.

serve the rice topped w/ the fruit/veggie mixture and the chicken strips on top.

just got this recipe....i think i'll try it this weekend!

Steph