Hey guys! I'm Shira and I am SO excited to finally be starting on one of my New Year's resolutions..START A BLOG. Well, let me back that up, I have STARTED several blogs but just never really saw them through pasts like 2 posts. Bad, I know, but this one is going to be different because I am committed and feeling this blog WAY more than those other 2 or 3, lol, and it's 2012 and my motto this is year is "No one or nothing is holding me back in 2012!" So here I am refreshed, renewed, and ready for 2012. I have actually completed several of my New Year's resolutions. I joined a gym and have been exercising 6 days a week, I have started a fitness journal, I have amped up my clean eating, and I'm working on my organizational skills. I think I've been successful so far because I'm not trying to do everything at once. I make one or two changes at a time and then once I feel comfortable with a system I try something else on the list. It's working for me so far but check back in and see what's going on by June. One of my new organizational, clean eating changes I have made is to create a weekly menu and it has been a HUGE help in our house. We go get the groceries that we need on Saturday or Sunday and know what we're going to eat each night so there's no confusion and we don't resort to going out to eat every night. It's also a lot less wasteful because I'm not buying extra food I'm not going use or need. On Tuesday night we had a new recipe I found... Baked Ravioli. I'm not a big fan of spaghetti, Italian type dishes but I must say that this was really good. We had this with sauteed Brussel sprouts..YUM! (that's another post). I modified the recipe to be a bit healthier but you could do so much with this recipe, so consider this just a base to do with what you please! Oh yeah all you Weight Watcher's people this calculates to 9 points!
*Note: I am working on my photography skills so please bear with me and these pictures..I'm trying, real hard..lol
Baked Ravioli
1 Package Buitoni Whole Wheat Tortellini (or whatever whole wheat pasta you would like)
1lb Laura's Lean Beef, EXTRA LEAN (or ground turkey, chicken, tofu, veggie crumbles, whatever)
1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you can use cooking spray for fat free but EVOO is an EFA, I'll talk more about that later)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes, salt free (Whole Foods carries a great organic brand, but lower sodium will do)
2 Tbsp Organic Tomato Paste, salt free or low sodium
1/2 Cup Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese, shredded (try to get the FRESHEST cheese you can, I prefer to buy a block and shred it myself, I steer clear of anything KRAFT but if you don't want to grate your own SARGENTO is the best packaged cheese, in my opinion)
Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper or Ground Pepper
Italian Seasoning
*Note: I cooked this in an 8x8 pan and it made enough for 5-6, I had about 1.5 cups of sauce left but the original recipe uses a 9x13. If you use a 9x13, I would suggest using an extra package of tortellini.
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in large sauce pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and garlic, stirring a little bit until softened. This should take about 5 minutes.
2. Add in the can of tomatoes (undrained) and tomato paste followed by the Sea Salt, Pepper, and Italian Seasoning (all the spices to your taste). Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer covered for 20-25 minutes until the sauce has thickened and reduced
3. While the sauce is cooking brown your meat, if you're using and set aside once browned.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook tortellini until they float to the top of the water (they will cook in the oven, as well) Drain the pasta and set aside.
5. Once sauce is ready stir in meat.
6. Place pasta in the baking dish, pour sauce over pasta, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
7. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until golden.
8. Cool and ENJOY!
