Lasagna - Ravioli-Zucchini -- Sunday Night Dinner with the Fam

Well, tonight I had both of my boys over for Sunday dinner along with one of their girlfriends (she is really like my 4th kid...love her!).  My daughter is in Orlando  this weekend where she ran in the Disney Princess Half Marathon this morning...so I'm pretty sure she is probably having Tylenol and Advil for her dinner this evening!

I decided to make lasagna using layers of big cheese ravioli, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, zucchini and meat sauce.  I served it with salad and Asiago Cheese Baguette bread that we picked up at Panera Bread this morning.  For dessert, I made chocolate walnut brownies with a quick and easy ganache topping made using whipping cream and melted chocolate.  In honor of Girl Scout Cookie time here in the Atlanta area, I served the brownies with a scoop of Edy's Girl Scout Samoas Cookie ice cream.  Below are some pictures of our meal and its preparation as well as the recipe.  Enjoy!

The basic ingredients for the lasagna

I sliced the zucchini lengthwise in 1/4" slices, brushed with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and baked until tender

The layering begins with sauce and then a layer of cooked zucchini

Cooked raviolis are tossed with sauce to keep from sticking

Meat Sauce

Ravioli is layered on top of the zucchini

The next layer is Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

The cheese is covered with a layer of meat sauce and then all the layers are repeated again

Baked for about 50 minutes until hot, bubbly and golden

Asiago bread from Panera

Lots of fresh basil, of course

Voila

So pretty

BOOM!

Chocolate Ganache Brownies with Samoas Ice Cream

BOOM BOOM!!

Ravioli and Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

• 5-6 medium (about 2 pounds) zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 2 packages (26 ounces each) frozen large cheese ravioli
• olive oil to brush on zucchini and sauté onion
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef, 90% fat free
• 2 jars (26 ounces each) tomato-basil sauce (or your favorite sauce)
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil.  Place sliced zucchini on the cookie sheet and brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake approximately 20 minutes or until tender; remove and let cool.  Meanwhile, grease a 3-quart ceramic lasagna pan or baking dish and set aside.
2. Heat large covered saucepot of water to boiling over high heat. Add ravioli and cook until ravioli rise to top (approximately 3 to 4 minutes).  Don't overcook or they will fall apart.
3. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned; add ground beef and cook over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes or until browned, breaking up beef with side of spoon. Stir in tomato sauce and heat until simmering.
4. Drain ravioli; return to saucepot. Toss with some of the sauce to keep from sticking.
5. In prepared baking dish, arrange half of zucchini; top with half of ravioli, then half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan; spread half of the meat sauce over the cheese. Repeat layering of all ingredients. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until hot in the center; uncover and continue baking approximately 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly on top.  Remove from oven and let cool 20-25 minutes to let the cheese set and keep cut pieces from sliding and falling apart.