Crockpot Ravioli

So now that school is back in session, we're all looking for quick, easy, meals to get on the table, right?  Well, look no further.  A good friend of mine emailed this recipe to me...and I knew I had to try it.  Best of all, I could use jarred pasta sauce and frozen ravioli...yeah!  Okay, I admit, I wasn't going to take the time to make my own pasta sauce, let alone homemade ravioli anyway.  

Here's the link to the original recipe, feel free to tweak it the way your family likes it.  As you'll see, I didn't have any red peppers, so I used a few, chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  I doubled the recipe, and had only one and a half jars of pasta sauce...it worked just fine.  I have an Italian seasoning spice blend, but I decided to use Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle, because I just love it.  I didn't' add the one cup of water...I find most crock-pot meals don't need a lot of added liquid.  And I sprinkled some freshly grated Pecorio-Romano cheese over the top of the finished dish...because you can never have enough cheese if you're serving kids. :-)

Crockpot Ravioli

adapted from Food.com

One bag (25 ounces) frozen beef or cheese ravioli

1 jar (24 ounces) prepared pasta sauce

1 (8 ounces) can tomato sauce

2-3 tablespoons chopped red pepper

Italian seasoning blend

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

Pour half of the pasta sauce in the bottom of your crockpot.  (If you're doubling the recipe, you will definitely need a large, 5 quart slow-cooker). I used a tomato-basil marinara sauce.  

Arrange the ravioli over the sauce.  

Pour the rest of the pasta sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the spice blend...about 2 teaspoons. 

Add the tomato sauce, and sprinkle on a bit more spice blend ( wanted some herbal flavor in between the layers).  Top with the chopped peppers (I used sun-dried tomatoes).  

Sprinkle the cheese over everything and cover.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or until the ravioli is heated through. 

Here's what my pot looked like after 4.5 hours.  

Voila!  And I didn't have to do any cooking at all!  :-)

Garnish with a little freshly chopped basil and some grated parmesan cheese if desired.  

The pickiest eater in our house (Christina) LOVED this, and get this...she asked for seconds.  I'm telling you, that never, ever, happens, so I was thrilled!  

Enjoy, and God bless your table tonight!