Ma Rob's Family Favorite Lasagna

After the big homemade pizza extravaganza, Roy decided he wanted to try his hand at some homemade lasagna.  Never one to turn down comfort food I quickly agreed and was told just as quickly that ROY wanted to make the the lasagna.  By himself.  My help was not needed, thankyouverymuch.

I'm sure you're thinking, that's wonderful!  You have a man who wants to cook for you.  To that I would say you are clearly unfamilar with the rule at my house which is "she who cooks does not clean up". 

That meant I'd be on clean up duty after Roy's lasagna-from-scratch evening.  One that would include chopping parsley with two knives, not one.  Because dueling knives is so much more efficient.  So much.

Anyway, back to the gooey, cheesy lasanga goodness...

We used my Mom's recipe.  It's what I grew up eating as a kid and got rave reviews from Roy at the holidays.  I like this recipe a) because it's fantastic and reminds me of home and family.  And b) because it uses cottage cheese instead of Ricotta.  My body and Ricotta don't get along so it's a pretty important piece.

This recipe is decades old and beyond tried and true.  My Mom had it in her recipe box well before I came along.  It's a nice blend of homemade touches (like the meat sauce) and helpful shortcuts (like oven-ready, no-boil noodles). 

Although I could see my Mom's eyeballs rolling all the way from Florida, I swapped the ground beef for ground turkey.  Technically it was Roy's choice.  I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out but figured we could try it at least once.  I was pretty impressed with the results!  I didn't even remember I was eating ground turkey until the 2nd day and it was definitely more of a positive then a negative.

Here's the sauce simmering with the ground turkey, tomatoes, herbs and spices.  I love how rich and flavorful it is, without overwhelming the flavor of the cheeses.

We made two smaller lasagnas so we could eat one and freeze one.  Once you've made the sauce, get your pans going with a bit of sauce and then lay down your first layer of oven-ready, no-boil noodles.

Top with cottage cheese, mozzarella.

And them some grated Parmesan.

Add another layer of noodles, then sauce, then cottage cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan. 

Then do one more layer of noodles, sauce, SKIP the cottage cheese and go straight to the mozzarella and Parm.  Pop it in the oven and this is very important:  bake according to the directions on the noodle package.  It will probably be a combination of 30 mins or so covered with aluminum foil and 15 mins or so uncovered to make the cheese bubbly and brown.  

Let it stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting in and serving.  That will keep it from falling apart the moment you try to dig a piece out with a spatula.  And it gives you plenty of time to prep your salad and make some garlic bread.

This is comfort food perfected in my opinion.  And it's good any time of the year!  I suspect we'll be digging into the frozen one sooner rather than later :) 

*****

Ma Rob's Lasagna
45-50 mins active, 1 1/2 - 2 hours total
serves 6-8

1 lb ground beef or turkey
3/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. vegetable oil
1 lb (or 16 ounces) diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 can tomato paste
1 c. water
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 of an 8 ounce package of oven-ready lasagna noodles (aka: no boil noodles)
24 ounces 2% or no-fat cottage cheese
18 slices of mozzarella cheese
1 c. grated Parmesan

Brown the ground beef or turkey lightly in oil with the chopped onion.

When browned, add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, parsley, salt, sugar, garlic powder, pepper and oregano.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray your pan(s) with no-stick spray and spread a thin layer of sauce evenly over the bottom.  Lay down your no-boil noodles breaking them to fit your pan if necessary and making sure they overlap a little bit. Add more sauce and then a layer of cottage cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan.

Repeat starting with noodles, then sauce, cottage cheese, mozz and Parm.

Repeat one more time WITHOUT cottage cheese.  So just noodles, sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake at the time and temp directed on your noodle package.  Allow to stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Event brain... aka: sorry I hoarded the beef stroganoff pics

Those of you who know me well, know that last week was one of the biggest work weeks I'll have all year.  My team hosted 50 senior executives from across the country in my home office for 2 days. That combined with a few other projects that all came due within about two weeks of the event and I have a bad case of event brain. 

It's like pregnancy brain, but without an 18 year commitment.

And I had it so bad that my post about beef stroganoff included multiple pictures of my ski trip and absolutely zero pictures of the recipe in reference.  My bad.

I realized this during the middle of the event on Wednesday and texted a friend and faithful reader (Hi Helber!!) to confirm the mistake.

And then I sat around all weekend and drank Spotted Cows and went to the spa with a girlfriend instead of fixing it.  I want to feel bad but I'm still not firing on all cylinders yet and it's very hard to feel bad when you're drinking good beer and playing hooky with a buddy.

So here is the recipe WITH photos. 

Unrelated: is it possible to make crock pot food look appetizing while it's still in the crock pot? With the exception of BBQ and ribs, I'm not sure it is.

Fantastic tip from Mel at Upgrading Melissa, leave a wooden spoon on or over your pot of boiling pasta. When the pot invariably starts to boil over, this will stop it. Pretty cool and it works! PS: doesn't her recipe for roasted asparagus pasta with balsamic butter sauce look yummy?

*****

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
20 mins active, 5-6 hours cook time
Serves 4-6


1 pound cubed beef of your choice
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 bullion cube
1/2 packet of onion soup mix
Dash of garlic salt
Freshly ground pepper1 heaping Tbsp of sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese 


In a slow cooker, combine the meat, Golden Mushroom soup, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, water, bullion cube, soup mix and water.  Season with a dash of garlic salt and some pepper.

Cook on low setting for 5-6 hours (or high for 3-4).  Add sauteed mushrooms 30 minutes before serving.  Stir in cream cheese and sour cream just before serving.  Best served over egg noodles.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Earlier this month Roy and I went to Vail for a ski trip with a collection of friends and family.  Although there hasn't been as much snow as normal in the US, Vail was doing ok and we had good weather and a great time as we indulged in the opportunity to eat and drink as much as possible knowing we'd ski it off the next day.  Skiing may not be as relaxing as lying on the beach, but it does have it's perks :)

Vail is spectacularly gorgeous and even when I was stuck at the top of a run, terrified to go down, I was able to take a step back and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  I'm pretty sure I saw the actual Rockies that Coors taps when making their beer.  It was breathtaking.

[Perhaps now is a good time to mention I'm not a skier by nature. This was my second time skiing on real "west coast" mountains and not icy Midatlantic hills.  There were some love days and some hate days during this trip.  But overall the love outweighed the hate and I'm on board to go again next year... although it's easy to say that when "next year" is still 340 days away.] 

Despite coming home to unseasonably warm temps (60's - 80's which is just silly for Chicago in March), we were both craving some hearty winter foods.  Out came the crockpot and the ingredients for beef stroganoff.

I usually use a McCormick's seasoning packet when I make beef stroganoff but after sampling some wild boar stew in Vail, I knew that no seasoning packet would match up.  5 minutes of Internet searching later and I had found this recipe.  With over 2,800 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5, I felt pretty good with the choice.

I doctored it up quite a bit accordingly to this comment that I found:

"I read almost all of the 400+ reviews and made modifications based on them. To save everyone else some time, here's what they say to do (and what I did...and it came out great): (1) add salt, pepper, and garlic, (2) double the sauce but keep the cream cheese and Worcestershire the same, (3) use Golden Mushroom, not Cream of Mushroom or don't make this at all, (4) reduce the cooking time to about 5-6 hours on low, (5) add a "dollup" of sour cream when you add the cream cheese to get an extra "tang", (6) add a bullion cube, (7) add a half packet of onion soup mix, (8) serve over egg noodles, (9) add sauteed mushrooms about 1/2 an hour before serving. I know this isn't true to the original recipe, but I trusted others and I think it helped. Great slow-cooker recipe."

The reviewer was right.  This recipe didn't disappoint.  The sauce was a beautiful golden brown and had tons of flavor.  It was my first time using Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup.  It blows the original cream of chicken out of the water!  Again, the reviewer was right - do this with Golden Mushroom or don't do this at all.  I also loved the addition of fresh mushrooms.  If you're short on time you can skip the saute part and just toss them straight in the crockpot.

I used cubed stew meat per the recipe's instructions and it was a miss.  Next time I'll spend a few more dollars an upgrade to something that's of better quality. Besides that this recipe was spot on.  It's a good deal more flavor than a McCormick's crock pot packet with only a marginal amount of extra effort.

UPDATED APRIL 3, now with the photos I forgot in the original post. Sorry!

Fantastic tip from Mel at Upgrading Melissa, leave a wooden spoon on or over your pot of boiling pasta. When the pot invariably starts to boil over, this will stop it. Pretty cool and it works! PS: doesn't her recipe for roasted asparagus pasta with balsamic butter sauce look yummy?

*****

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
20 mins active, 5-6 hours cook time
Serves 4-6


1 pound cubed beef of your choice
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 bullion cube
1/2 packet of onion soup mix
Dash of garlic salt
Freshly ground pepper1 heaping Tbsp of sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese 


In a slow cooker, combine the meat, Golden Mushroom soup, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, water, bullion cube, soup mix and water.  Season with a dash of garlic salt and some pepper.

Cook on low setting for 5-6 hours (or high for 3-4).  Add sauteed mushrooms 30 minutes before serving.  Stir in cream cheese and sour cream just before serving.  Best served over egg noodles.

"Secret Spaghetti"

[Reposting this since the previous version was showing up incorrectly, sorry!]

After seeing Jamie Oliver's tv show Food Revoluion two summers ago, I became interested in the idea of adding more vegetables to every day dishes.  Specifically, spaghetti.  I took my Mom's standard recipe (sauce + ground beef) and then gave it my own spin.  I swapped in ground turkey and added loads of veggies like chopped green peppers, diced onion, mushrooms, and garlic. 

It's simple, delicious and super hearty without offending your waist line.  Hence the name secret spaghetti... you'd never know this dish is jam packed with so many veggies!  It's a secret :) 

I've been relying on recipes like this to beef up my daily fruit and veggie intake in the new year.  I love eating comfort food that packs a nutritional punch too.

This recipe is embarrassingly easy since it starts with jarred sauce.  So easy that I'm ashamed to post an actual recipe at the bottom.  This is too easy to warrant a recipe.  But I'm doing it anyway in case someone wants to see the process. 

This is perfect for hectic worknights.  It would work equally as well with a homemade sauce and with whatever veggies you have on hand, feel free to switch it up!  In general, it's pretty impossible to mess up.  The sauce needs to simmer for 30 minutes to cook the meat but you could leave it over low heat for an hour.  Or cook it earlier in the afternoon or the day before and then reheat it when you're ready.

I serve over whatever pasta I have handy and add in some slices of cheesy garlic bread and a green salad.  And a glass of milk.  For some reason spaghetti makes me crave milk.  So weird.

PS: if you can afford it, go with organic spaghetti sauce (and ketchup for that matter).  Organic tomatoes deliver up to 30% more of the antioxidant lycopene which is said to help reduce your risk of cancer.  Well theoretically "30% more".  You know how the FDA works.

*****

Secret Spaghetti
serves 6-8
15 mins active, 45 mins total

Favorite jarred spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb ground turkey
2+ cloves minced garlic
1/2 onion, roughly diced
1 green bell pepper, roughly diced
Large handful of mushrooms, chopped
Sprinkle of dried oregano (optional)
Handful of basil or parsley (optional)


Pour sauce into a large saucepan.  Crumble ground turkey into sauce and stir to combine. Set on stove over medium heat and cover.

Chop onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms.  Add to the sauce (you can add each one as you finish chopping or hold them and add all at once), stir.  Add herbs, salt and pepper if desired.  Cover and let simmer until turkey is cooked, about 30 minutes total.

While the sauce simmers, cook pasta.  Combine pasta with sauce and serve.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Pasta

We got 6 inches of snow last Friday and I decided it was the perfect excuse for some "everything but the kitchen sink" pasta!

It's one my Mom taught me when I first moved to Chicago.  She came out the weekend after I moved and took me shopping to set up my kitchen with cute red pots and pans and baking dishes and groceries.  In exchange, Roy and I took her to dinner in boys town on Cinco de Mayo where a VERY inebriated lesbian fell and dry heaved at her flip flopped feet.  Ohhhh the different ending that story could have had.  Remember that time Mom?  It's totally the way you should thank someone you love after they outfit your kitchen :)

Knowing me the way mothers know their daughters, she wanted to make sure to teach me something using my new kitchen goodies to ensure they'd get used in the future.  So she taught me this.  Because of that, around these parts it goes by "Ma Rob's Tasty Pasta" in addition to "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Pasta".

It's fantastic!  A go-to crowd pleaser packed with lots of delicious ingredients like prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, peas, mushrooms, onions and pine nuts.  It's a bit salty and smoky with the prosciutto, the peas and pine nuts lend it some crunch and the mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes give it a subtle earthiness.  And it's so flavorful!  Try it the next time you want some good comfort food.

*****

Ma Rob's "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Pasta
serves 6-8, 40 mins

1 jar Vodka Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
6-8 slices of prosciutto, roughly chopped (cutting prosciutto with kitchen scissors is MUCH easier)
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen peas
small jar of pine nuts
1 package (9 oz) of fresh linguine


Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add chopped onions and prosciutto.  Cook until onions are soft and translucent and the prosciutto is browned a bit. 

Add sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and peas.  Stir and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Add vodka sauce, turn heat down to low and cover.  Add linguine to boiling water and cook until al dente (linguine cooks VERY quickly, in 2-3 minutes). 

Reserve a cup of pasta water and then drain the pasta when it's done.  Add pasta to the pan and stir to combine with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, mix in half a cup of the reserved pasta water to thin it out.  When you're happy with the sauce, sprinkle pine nuts over and serve.

Penne with Parmesan Cream and Prosciutto

Ohhhh fellow eaters, I've been waiting a long time to share this one.  It's another cold-weather beauty that is a go-to for whenever I have company.  It's easy, quick and will stop conversation cold as the guests at your dinner table dig into the magic that happens when you combine pasta, Parmesan, cream and prosciutto.

This recipe originally appeared in Gourmet magazine and it definitely has some gourmet flavors!  For starters, cream makes everything better.  It's a fact of life.  Like the sun rising in the east.  Combining it with Parmesan gives it a creamy but subtle richness.  And the prosciutto pushes it over the edge with a bit of salty smokiness. 

Penne with Parm. cream and prosciutto is a great way to feed a crowd.  With only 4 ingredients, you can easily get out of the grocery store for under $10 (depending on the kind of Parmesan you choose) with enough to serve 6-8 people.  Add on salad and some bread and you're looking at $16-20.

This is as good on the first night as it is on the second, third and fourth night, if the leftovers last that long.  It's the kind of meal that warms your belly and will let your guests know that they are loved. 

*****

Penne with Parmesan Cream and Prosciutto
From Gourmet Magazine
15 mins active, 40 mins total, serves 6

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
1 lb penne
2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped


Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Cook pasta in a 6-to-8-quart pot of boiling salted water, until al dente, then drain in a colander.  While pasta cooks, bring cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Return pasta to pot, then stir in Parmesan cream and prosciutto, tossing to coat.  Transfer mixture to a 2-quart shallow flameproof gratin or baking dish (about 11 by 8 by 2 inches; not glass) and bake 15 minutes.

Stir pasta well to coat evenly with sauce, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.  Turn on broiler and broil pasta 4 to 5 inches from heat until top is lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Roasted Veggies with Israeli Couscous

This recipe is quickly turning into one of my favorites.  By now you probably know that I veer towards recipes with veggies.  For me, the more the better! 

This dish delivers on that and so much more.  I love it for a number of reasons... the roasted veggies make your house smell heavenly, it makes a ton of food, and it can be served warm or cold and as a main dish or a side salad.

Chopping and prepping the veggies can take 20-25 minutes, which is the only downside in my opinion.  I find that pouring a glass of wine to drink while you work helps the situation greatly ;) 

This recipe calls for Israeli couscous which is also called pearl couscous.  It's bigger than traditional North African couscous and tastes more like pasta than rice.  It's delicious too!

Think of this as the basic framework for a house that you can decorate however you want.  Use the veggies you have on hand or whatever is fresh at your grocery store or farmers market.  Chop them large or small to suit your preference.  And add the dressing to suit your taste.  I added about half the dressing the night I made it and then added a bit more the next day once it had time to blend with the veggies and couscous.  You can always add more later but you can't fix something you've overdressed.

Have fun with this, make it as a side salad with a nice steak or pack it for lunch instead of your usual sandwich! 

*****

Roasted Veggies with Israeli Couscous

1 small eggplant, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped, seeds removed
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups dry Israeli Couscous
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup feta cheese

For the Balsamic Dressing:3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper


Roast the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Chop and arrange the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, onion, and garlic in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 30-35 minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally. Remove vegetables from the oven and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring three cups of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, stir in the Israeli couscous. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until couscous is just tender, with a slight bite, about 10 to 13 minutes. Drain into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine couscous and roasted vegetables. Stir in the basil and feta cheese.

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over couscous and vegetables and stir until well combined.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Favorite Homemade Mac & Cheese

I started going to Camp Strawderman the summer I was nine years old.  What started out as something that can only be described as "get her out of her comfort zone" quickly turned into a love affair with the Blue Ridge mountains. 

Do you see Clark hanging out in the back of the car trying to blend in and hope he can spend 2 weeks at Camp too?

There were no flushing toilets, we used outhouses that were fraught with spiders and bugs and the occasional horse if someone was pulling a prank.  We swam in a creek and rode horses.  There were no TVs or phones and there was just enough electricity to play the boombox in our cabin during the morning and power our lights until taps at 9:30.  Once every two weeks we had to get up early and make our own breakfast which they cleverly called "pioneering". 

Why yes, we are hanging out on the steps that led to the outhouse that was parked in the middle of the horse fields!

I was a camper at Strawderman for nine years (yes, you read that right, I went to camp long after it wasn't "cool" anymore).  Those summers were some of the best and most influential of my life.  Seriously, you spend a month using an outhouse and swimming in a creek and you suddenly become a little less diva.  Which I'm sure pleased my parents, particularly during those lovely teenager years. 

Every summer I got to pick the meal we ate on my last night at home and the meal we ate on my first night back.  A tradition that continued when I started going to college and when my brother started going to golf camp (an unbelievably different summer camp experience from the one I had... including maids, non-alcoholic daiquiris by the pool and a dinner so formal each night he had to wear a jacket). 

For years I requested Mexican Casserole, a recipe I'll share sometime in the next few months.  It's a family favorite and was actually what I made for Roy the first time I ever cooked him dinner.  But if I wasn't requesting Mexican Casserole, I was requesting this... creamy homemade mac 'n' cheese with a crumbly cracker topping.

 

For as long as I can remember, this dish has been synonymous with "home".  It got requested before camp, after college, upon my return from a study abroad trip to Southeast Asia, for birthdays and holidays... calling it a family favorite doesn't feel like enough.

It's deliciously rich and creamy with the unusual but subtle addition of mushrooms.  The cheese keeps it gooey and the crumbled crackers on top get mixed with butter to make sure you're tasting a little piece of heaven.  This is the kind of mac 'n' cheese that rouses you from sleep at 2am for a few forkfuls straight out of the fridge.  I've even flown home from the holidays with tupperware containers of leftovers in my carry on bag. 

Careful if you try it before Thanksgiving, it will make a compelling case to be added to your Turkey Day menu!  Especially since it can be made the day ahead :)

*****

Favorite Homemade Mac & Cheese

1 - 8oz package of elbow macaroni (or half a 1 LB box of macaroni)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup light mayo
2 cups (8oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 - 4oz can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 sleeve of round buttery crackers, crushed (I use Ritz low sodium)
3 Tbs. butter


Boil a pot of water, cook the macaroni until al dente and drain.

Combine in macaroni, soup and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into a lightly greased 2 qt. casserole.

Combine the crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over casserole.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes or till browning on top. Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Mushroom Ravioli with Basil, Shallot and Cream Sauce

After building a tiny collection of posts over the past two weeks, I finally took this little blog public, sharing the site with a handful of my least judgmental friends :)  But now... now I have to keep you here.  I've got to deliver for our 2nd date.  So I'm peddling out one of my faves, a little black dress and a professional blow out if you will!

It uses one of Buitoni's fresh raviolis with an easy, easy, easy sauce made from scratch.  You'll have dinner on the table in 20-30 minutes and you'll be accepting accoloades and opening up a bottle of wine because a meal this good deserves it. 

This receipe was passed along by a family friend over a glass of wine.  One of those situations where you don't get real instructions, instead just a retelling of the recipe as a story. When I (a) remembered it following said glass of wine and (b) cooked something that turned out to be delicious, I was shocked. This was back in the days when I ate bagel bites for dinner on a weekly basis.  It was a big deal.

It can be hard to find the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, so I usually buy two and freeze one.  The recipe below is for one container but it easily doubles if you're serving a crowd and making two batches.  I served mine with oven roasted asparagus that I drizzled with a balsamic glaze and a salad. 

Happy Eating!

PS:  Sorry, these pictures do NOTHING for the raviolis, I promise it is more appetizing than it looks. 

*****

Mushroom Ravioli with Basil Shallot and Cream Sauce

Package of Butoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti (also called ravioli for us peasant folk)
2 shallots
2 or 3 leaves of fresh basil, roughly chopped
Few tsps of olive oil
1 cup or less of heavy whipping cream - add more or less depending on what you prefer
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper


Set a large pot of water to boil for the ravioli.  Cut shallots into ribbons and roughly chop basil.

Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add shallots.  After two minutes, add basil and let basil and shallots cook until shallots are softened (about 5 minutes).

Once shallots are softened, add raviolis to the water and then right after, add your heavy cream and your Parmesan cheese to the shallots/basil and stir well.

Once the cheese melts, reduce the heat on the cream mixture so it’s medium-low and stir occasionally while your raviolis cook (4-6 mins).  Taste your sauce, add more cream or cheese to taste.  Season with salt and pepper.

Drain raviolis and place in serving dish, cover with sauce and stir to mix.