JB Challenge - elevate the freezer meal

Things I love: easy dinners.

Typically, this means: a stir fry, a red sauce-pasta dish, a creative salad, a grilled chicken and veggie, a rice bowl...on rotation each week.

Frozen dinners? Not usually my thing. To be honest, they are mostly-pretty-gross (but I found a good one, trust me, more on that later!).

The other thing is - if I am going to make something “frozen” or half-prepared, it’s likely going to be when I’m alone and not when I’m cooking for the fam. They tend to be a “everyone left me for the night, now it’s 9PM, and I’m hungry...and lazy…” kind of decision. And then, I’m so happy I put at least one of them in the freezer from 3 months ago at the grocery store.

Anyway, I took a challenge on this month of creating some creative recipes from a frozen meal. Why? Because A) I found a company that makes legit pasta with a very small ingredient list, of things I can pronounce and know what they are. And B) because I have a new baby arriving in a few weeks and I need to get efficient here. Also, C) I thought this would be a fun, creative challenge….

ELEVATE THE FREEZER MEAL.

Here’s what we’re doing: We’re taking a frozen butternut squash ravioli and making it beautiful 3 different ways.

Let’s be honest - you love butternut squash ravioli - but are you going to make pasta dough from scratch? And then ravioli on top of that? And then a sauce?

No.

No, you’re not.

And we are entering FALL when you will def want this on your menu.

So, let’s reinvent the frozen meal a bit. Take out some of the prep work, if you will. You find a good quality prepared butternut squash ravioli, and all YOU have to focus on is how to add a creative spin, with one of my ideas below.

Not only are you playing with ingredients and flavors, but I want you to also play with the plating by making it your own. Anyone can throw a microwaved dinner in a bowl - but here - you are going to make it look fancy because you’ve already taken out a lot of the work upfront and can focus on the beauty!

(FYI: the visual is really important to your dinner. You will feel WAY more satisfied if you genuinely want to eat what is in front of you. And the way you do that is to make it look...really nice.)

The ravioli that I’m using is from Gabriella’s Kitchen. Their skinnypasta™ is low calorie, low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and nut-free, so you’re covered no matter what allergies or dietary restrictions you're following. No preservatives, no GMO ingredients. (They also carry fresh teff pasta and a kids' line!) Here are the ingredients for the squash ravioli while we are on this topic:

INGREDIENTS: CRUSHED TOMATOES (TOMATOES, WATER, SALT, CITRIC ACID), WATER, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, EGG, TAPIOCA STARCH, ARROWROOT STARCH, ONION, CARROTS, POTATO STARCH, OLIVE OIL, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, GARLIC, THYME, OREGANO, BASIL, BLACK PEPPER.

I know what all of those things are. Yay! xanthan gum is probably the weirdest thing - and it’s a thickener and stabilizer created when a sugar is fermented by a certain kind of bacteria. It’s then made into a solid using alcohol, and the ground into a powder. It's an unprocessed ingredient and usually harmless unless you have very sensitive digestion.

Anyway - find a good quality ravioli (like the one above! You can find them in Philly ACME stores or can order online - check out the store locations here.) and let’s get cooking.  

I have THREE variations on the butternut squash freezer meal below. For each of these - I’m assuming 2 servings when served with a salad, so adjust as you wish.

Butternut Squash Ravioli in Broth

INGREDIENTS

• Enough prepared butternut squash ravioli to feed 2 (I’m using 1 package of Gabriella’s Kitchen skinnypasta™ and serving this with a side salad!)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ onion, chopped

• 1 carrot, chopped

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 small can of tomato sauce (8 ounces or use the pomodoro sauce that comes with your GK ravioli)

• 2 cups veggie stock

• splash of dry red wine

• small handful fresh basil, chopped

• sea salt and black pepper to taste

• almond cheese if desired (½ nutritional yeast to ½ almond flour + salt!)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots, and cook over medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes, until tender (add the garlic to cook through when the other veggies are almost soft - we don’t want to burn the garlic!). Add the tomato or pomodoro sauce to the pot along with the veggie stock, red wine, basil, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, add lid, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve (warm) ravioli in a bowl topped with the soup broth and optional almond parmesan.

 

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Creamy Pesto

INGREDIENTS

• Enough prepared butternut squash ravioli to feed 2 (I’m using 1 package of Gabriella’s Kitchen skinnypasta™ and serving this with a side salad!)

Pesto Sauce: makes a little extra but necessary in order to get it to blend

• 1.5 cups tightly packed fresh basil

• 1/2 cup walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, the list goes on!

• ½ lemon, juiced

• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• ½ clove garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

• ⅛ cup water, as needed to blend

Additions:

• 1 small can of tomato sauce (8 ounces or use the pomodoro sauce that comes with your GK ravioli)

• almond cheese if desired (½ nutritional yeast to ½ almond flour + salt!)

Add all pesto ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until combined. You may need to add additional water (little by little) until you get desired consistency. Note that this is a little creamier and not as gritty as most pestos. I like to use this to dollop on top of pasta or smear onto the plate first. Add cooked ravioli to a bowl and top with fresh pesto sauce, tomato sauce and optional almond parmesan. Voila!

 

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Tomato-Cream Sauce + Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

• Enough prepared butternut squash ravioli to feed 2 (I’m using 1 package of Gabriella’s Kitchen skinnypasta™ and serving this with a side salad!)

• 8oz mushrooms, sliced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1-2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

• 1 tablespoon arrowroot

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1 sprig thyme, leaves removed

• Splash of balsamic vinegar

• 1 small can of tomato sauce (8 ounces or use the pomodoro sauce that comes with your GK ravioli)

• Red pepper flakes to taste

Additions:

• Additional thyme and (thickened) balsamic vinegar to garnish

• almond cheese if desired (½ nutritional yeast to ½ almond flour + salt!)

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, mushrooms and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper and stir frequently, cooking for 5 minutes until softened.

Stir in arrowroot and mix. Once combined, slowly add in the almond milk a little at a time so clumps don’t form. Add another healthy pinch of salt and black pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme, tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed and cook until you reach desired consistency (note: it will also thicken upon sitting)

Add ravioli to your sauce to cover and then plate it with optional garnishes!

This post was sponsored by Gabriella's Kitchen skinnypasta, but all opinions are my own.