I'm all in for a 15-minute meal

Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”

Federico Fellini

I enjoy cooking and trying new dishes but if you know me, then you know that I also enjoy recipes that come together quickly and easily when I’m exhausted from work and don’t feel like cooking. So when I recently ran across a headline that said, “The 15-Minute Dinner I’ve Made Hundreds of Times,” I knew I had to take a look.

The author, Theodora Kaloudis, states that even though she went to culinary school and cooks for a living, she actually prefers minimal ingredients, minimal prep and minimal cleanup when it comes to making dinner. This sounds like someone after my own heart.

We tried it on a recent weeknight and she is right. It comes together super quickly. Hubby enjoyed it, but then he’s a sucker for Italian sausage. I enjoyed it too and will probably make it again, but next time I think I’ll add more spinach because it cooks down so drastically, and more heavy cream to make more of a sauce.

A similar dish that’s been one of my go-tos for some time now is frozen cheese ravioli topped with store bought basil pesto and shredded Parm. And to complete the meal, just add a bag of Caesar salad and a box of frozen garlic bread. In the time it takes to boil the ravioli (4-6 minutes), bake the garlic bread (5-6 minutes) and empty the contents of the salad in a bowl and stir in the dressing, we have a meal.

15-Minute One-Pan Ravioli

From simplyrecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 18 oz. fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 (6-oz.) bag baby spinach
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup (1¾ oz.) grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the ravioli, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ cup water. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the ravioli are al dente, about 4 minutes. Add the spinach and a pinch each of salt and pepper, cover, and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Add the cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced slightly and is starting to lightly coat the ravioli, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in half of the Parmesan, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the ravioli topped with the remaining Parmesan and a few grinds of pepper.