You Have to Try This One!

Hello everyone!  I just had an amazing dinner and used my oven for the first time. It is pretty exciting to learn that it works.  I was skeptical of my oven when I was moving in... it's a convection oven/microwave oven, but really it just looks like a fancy microwave.  But, as I discovered tonight, it actually is a real convection oven and it works like a charm! 

Ever since the February issue of Real Simple came out with the article about 10 ways to use cheese ravioli, I have been dying to make this one variety that was featured.  It was cheese ravioli baked with heavy cream and pesto.  Yes. Very heavy, huh? Well I decided to make a couple changes to the recipe and the result was pretty great, if I do say so myself!

I didn't take actual measurements, so I'll explain what I did.  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Cook the cheese ravioli.  About 2 layers in a shallow 2 qt baking dish. I think it was about 16-18 oz (about a half of a 2 lb bag). 
   
3. Right before draining, throw in about a thin layer worth in the baking dish  of frozen peas (I know, not very precise). 
   
4. In a mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup pesto with 7-8 oz 2% plain greek yogurt. I used the 7 oz container of 2% Fage.  
   
5. Mix the cooked ravioli and peas in with the pesto mixture until combined. 
   
6. Pour into the 2 qt baking dish and sprinkle with ~1/4 cup grated parmesan. 
   
7. Bake for 20-25 min, until it is golden brown and bubbly on the top.  
   

Here is my serving.  I paired it with a big salad of romaine, dried cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

So goood!!  The greek yogurt was the perfect substitute for heavy cream in this recipe.  I'm going to have the remember this trick in the future.  It actually added protein, while using less fat and producing a really creamy texture.