Ravioli Lasagna

On Sundays, I like to make dinner a little bit more special than I would on a week night.  However, I don't always like to spend hours in the kitchen creating something elaborate.  This meal was perfect for our Sunday dinner.  It was quick and easy, but it tasted like I had worked harder than usual.  Win! Win!  It certainly smelled like a special dinner while it was baking.  Paired with a nice salad and some toasty garlic bread, it looked special too!

This meal does require some time to bake, but with its few ingredients, it is quick to throw together. I just used dried spices and seasonings, but I'm sure minced garlic and diced onion would be even tastier!   You can even prepare this ahead of time and freeze it for another evening, which is something I have done before. 

Ravioli Lasagna

1 lb lean ground beef
onion powder
garlic salt
pepper
Italian seasoning
1 bag frozen cheese ravioli
1 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brown the ground beef  over medium heat and season with spices to taste (I didn't measure.  It isn't exact).  Prepare a glass baking dish (I used a dish that was about 11 x 7, and it was the perfect size) by placing about 1/4 cup of plain sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Then add the rest of the sauce to the ground beef and heat through. 

Make one layer of frozen ravioli followed by a layer of meat sauce.  Continue to layer as such (I got three layers).  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the last layer of sauce and finish with the the mozzarella cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese on top.

For a meal that was so quick to throw together, it sure tasted like I spent all afternoon on it.  Yum!