When I woke up this morning and turned on the news, it was a balmy “feels like” eight degrees in Nashville. Tennessee. This is March, and we have spring trees flowering, daffodils blooming everywhere, and now we are in a deep freeze with much of the nation. I’m not sure what the actual temperature was, but it was somewhere in the teens. This polar vortex needs to make it’s way back up to the North Pole.
Days like this make me want to stay in bed, drink a hot beverage and not even step foot outdoors. But to the store I must go; the fam gets restless when I don’t feed them. It’s a perfect day for some tummy warming comfort food.
I had this dish at a friend’s house one cold, rainy weekend. It is delicious and filling, very simple, and best of all (almost), it can be made in one pot!! I’ve adapted the recipe to how I cook and my family’s liking, but the actual recipe is from Southern Living. You can find it here: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/one-pot-pasta-recipe
One Pot Pasta
- One pound of ground beef or ground sausage
- One onion, chopped
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 – 26 ounce jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning
- 20 oz package of Buitoni cheese ravioli
- one cup (or more) mozzarella cheese
Brown the ground beef or sausage and onion in a six quart stock pot, crumbling the meat as it cooks. After the meat is done, drain off all the fat. Add the garlic to the meat and onion, cook another minute or two. Now add your spaghetti sauce (I’m a traditional Ragu girl – but I think any red sauce and brand will be delicious), water and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then add the ravioli. Reduce to a low boil, and cook for about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover. I don’t cook it “all the way”, because I know the pasta will continue to soften in the hot pot. This isn’t a soup, but I do serve it in soup bowls. Top it with mozzarella cheese, and serve with a simple green salad and Italian dressing, and Italian or French bread.
