Baked Ravioli

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion. chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried thyme
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes (diced tomatoes are okay too)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds ravioli
1 ¹⁄₂ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Heat oil in large ovensafe skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add sausage, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until sausage is cooked through and onion is softened.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add thyme and tomatoes.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce thickens and reduces, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, bring large pot salted water to boil and cook ravioli 2 minutes less than directed to by packaging.  Drain pasta well.  (Toss pasta with some olive oil at this point if the sauce hasn’t quite finished.  This will help keep it from sticking.) 

4. Once sauce finishes, transfer pasta to pan with sauce and toss well to combine.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Taste and Tell.  I wish that I had taken a picture of it once it had cooled for leftovers.  Once it was chilled and sliced it looked a lot like lasagna from the side.  I liked this significantly more than lasagna and whenever I think I’m craving lasagna in the future I might make this instead.  I used spinach and ricotta ravioli and added sausage to the original recipe.  You can make this with any ravioli or even tortellini if you desire.  The meat can easily be omitted or swapped out for some other ground meat, just be sure to add some seasoning if you’re using plain ground meat instead of a spiced sausage. 

Shown here with store-bought garlic bread.  What can I say, I like Safeway’s garlic bread.

Internet - Taste and Tell