Last week I promised NO PROSE. Seriously, I don’t know what got into me. I’ve kept my word…less sugar…less coffee. Today it’s just chips and guacamole’. Of course that leaves me with nothing but corn chip crumbles all over my keyboard to offer as an introduction for today’s DoAhead Dining!

Anyway! Here you go…another DoAhead casserole that’s super easy to prep/freeze, thaw/cook and serve.

Ravioli Hot Dish

Ingredients:

25 oz bag Cheese Ravioli

2 pounds Ground Hamburger

1/2 cup chopped Onions

1 quart Tomato Sauce

1 pinch Oregano

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Garlic Salt

1 pinch Brown Sugar

2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Prepare you spaghetti sauce first. (I usually make our family “Bolognese” in big batches, then I have it for dishes such as this one or baked spaghetti or as a topping for cooked rotini. If you have a favorite spaghetti sauce by all means use it instead of this version.)

Fry the hamburger and onions. Stir in the tomato sauce and seasoning. Grease a 9 x 12 casserole dish. Spread 3/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Layer with 1/2 of the ravioli and 1/2 of the cheese. Spread the rest of the meat sauce. Next layer the remaining Ravioli and cheese. Finish by topping it off with sprinkled Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Be sure and let it cool for a few minutes prior to serving. (Presentation of a pasta dish is always better when its had 10 to 15 minutes to cool…it keeps the contents from spilling all over the plate.)

*If you don’t have time to cook a home-made version of spaghetti sauce a large jar of store bought will work just fine. Don’t forget, you can change things up a bit with different types of ravioli. We like the cheese but meat, spinach or squash ravioli would be just as delicious.

If you want to DoAhead, prepare the casserole and store it in the freezer. If it’s going to be stored longer than two weeks you may want to vacuum seal it (the pasta may burn in the freezer if you don’t). I’ve frozen this dish, taken it out in the morning, put it in the oven, set the timer and come home to a terrific Italian treat!