Real Recipes - Crock-pot Ravioli

I've been thinking about starting a recipe series for a while now, but life has been so busy the past few weeks! So finally, here we have it....Real recipes!

Whenever I am meal planning, or hunting for a recipe in the morning to make that night for dinner, there are usually 3 qualifications that I look for in the recipe: 1.) It has to be {somewhat} healthy. I'm looking for a good balance of protein/fat/carbohydrates. 2.) It's quick, or at least something I can pull together before my 8-month old has a come apart. 3.) Either I have the ingredients on hand or I can find them at the store easily. It's not that I don't like different ingredients or don't enjoy using different cooking methods, it is more of the fact that I have a hungry husband and a somewhat limited budget {if it was up to me, I could spend more money on food than our mortgage payment}.


At our house I cook Real Recipies. Not fancy, always healthy, and definitely budget friendly! For each recipe I will give the ingredients, instructions, a cost estimate, and a calorie estimate. I hope to post a new recipe every Friday. Hopefully I will :) So here is is.....

#1 - Crock-pot Ravioli

Serves 5

Ingredients: 

1 Bag of frozen cheese ravioli (I buy mine at Aldi for ~$2.79)

1 Jar of prepared spaghetti sauce (I use chunky marinara~$2.79)

1 Can of diced tomatoes (~$.60)

1 8oz can of tomato sauce (~$.50)

1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese (~$1.00)

*I also use various spices (oregano, basil, parsley, etc.) and grated parmesan to doctor up my sauce.

Directions:

Prepare sauce by combining jarred spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and spices. Cook over medium heat until heated through (During this step, I also add sugar, salt and pepper to taste).

Pour half of sauce into crock-pot, empty on the bag of frozen ravioli, and top the ravioli with the remaining sauce. Then top with the shredded mozzarella and sprinkle with parsley. 

Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

*You could definitely add ground beef to the sauce, I just choose not to because well, it's kinda expensive, and the cheese has the needed protein. I'm still trying to convince my husband we don't need meat in EVERY meal!

If you prepare the recipe this way, the calorie count per serving is approximately 400kcal.

Total recipe cost: ~$7.68 or $1.50 per serving

*Want ground beef? Add $3.50

Green salad or frozen broccoli? Add another $1-$1.50

Craving garlic bread? Add $2.00

 There you have it! Add a green salad or steamed broccoli and dinner is done! Now go reward yourself by watching a Grey's Anatomy rerun before the baby wakes up :)