Kitchen Time

Yep, more food posting. If you're hungry right now, you may want to turn your head away....or you can read on and let your mouth water and then go stir up some of this goodness! First off is my homemade ravioli's with homemade spaghetti sauce. I've always wanted to make my own noodles and found a recipe in my Pasta Cookbook from my mommy, I've had it for years and can't wait to make everything in there! I must say, I am a "Pastatarian". I decided to make whole wheat pasta, and made ravioli's out of the dough. I stuffed them with a spinach-beef mixture. The sauce is homemade too, with some veggies added in. Yumm-o! I made this earlier this week.

The Ravioli's:

5 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

I mixed by hand, no electric mixer or food processor. Beat eggs, oil and salt in large bowl with a wire whisk until smooth. Add flour. Mix thouroughly with fork until dough forms. If it is too dry, add a small amount of water. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 5 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, cover and let stand about 15 minutes. This is the generic way to make noodles, how you make ravioli's is just a process of making a pocket and filling with whatever you want to fill it with. Make sure to roll out the dough thin enough and don't put too much stuffing in them! Wet edges with water and press firmly to close. Boil all of the ravioli's in water for atleast 10 minutes until tender. Wa-la!

Spinach and Beef Filling:

3/4 pound ground beef (I used a full pound)

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (small) spinach, drained

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook beef and onion for about 10 minutes until meat is cooked. Stir in remaining ingredients; cook until heated through. Fill the ravioli's.

The Sauce:

I admit, I didn't follow any recipe or write down what I did! I used a couple cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I added chopped red and yellow bell peppers and zucchini squash (in love with these veggies!). I also added minced garlic, to taste of course, and some spices. Home grown parsley and basil. Simmer until all is well blended and veggies are cooked where you want them. Spice to your liking.

Enjoy!