Homemade Spinach Ravioli

I have been working almost non-stop this past week, and will be for the next few days. Sure it keeps me busy, but after seven days in a row, I am like a zombie. Because of that I haven't had a lot of time to get into the kitchen. So I took the one day I knew I had time to get cooking!

I wanted to do this challenge a certain way, but I broke that already. For the first chunk of recipes, I wanted to go through all of my Food Network Magazines, then Cooking Light, then get into my cook books. Well, for some reason I couldn't find something I wanted to make at the moment in my magazines, so I dove into the books. I have had this cook book for at least 2 years, and I can't remember making one thing from it. That has changed!

Wonton wrappers, great for "homemade" ravioli. :)

There is a whole section in this cook book about smart grocery shopping. Very helpful.

Before I get into the recipe, I just wanted to share the things I would have done differently next time I make these. First, I would have read the directions carefully and added a teaspoon of dried basil (not a tablespoon like I did), it didn't taste any different, but still. I would have also bought more wonton wrappers. I used 42 and I still had a ridiculous amount of filling left over. The left overs have been put in the freezer for now. Lastly, I would have used a plate for the ravioli, not a bowl. Now, don't do what I did!!

The cheese mixture before and after. Of course I snuck in a bit of crushed red peppers!

 There are different ways to moisten the wrappers. I found the brush to work better. 

You don't have to use a cutter if you don't want to, but I happened to have one so I decided to use it!

A plate would have been a lot easier to eat these with, but delicious either way!

Homemade Spinach Ravioli
Cooking for le$$ Pasta

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

36 wonton wrappers

1 jar (est. 26 oz) marinara or other pasta sauce

Directions:

1. For filling, combine spinach, cheeses, egg, basil, salt, pepper and nutmeg in medium bowl.
2. Place 2 wontons on lightly floured surface, keeping remaining wrappers covered. Place 1 heaping teaspoonful filling in center of each wrapper. 
3. Moisten edges around filling (you can use water, or egg wash) and place another wrapper on top. Press edges gently around filling to remove air bubbles and seal. (If using square wrappers, cut with a 1 1/2-inch round or scalloped cookie cutter to make circle, if desired).
4. Repeat with remaining wrappers. (Any left over filling may be frozen for later use.)
5. Bring large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
6. Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat.
7. Add half of ravioli to boiling water; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook 3 minutes or until ravioli rise to top. Remove ravioli with slotted spoon and keep warm. Repeat with remaining ravioli. 
8. Serve with marinara sauce.

Makes 4 servings