Tonight's Dinner: Ravioli lasagna recipe

Lasagna is one of those classic pasta dishes that everyone always loves. It doesn't matter if it's filled with meat, cheese or vegetables, the baked pasta is always filling and the perfect answer to a classic Italian meal. There's just one thing wrong with lasagna -- it's time consuming. Yes, it's delicious, but the amount of time it takes to make is usually enough of a turn off that the recipe ends up remaining in the cookbook as opposed to on the table. Well thanks to Parents magazine, you can still make a delicious lasagna in about half the time. They suggested using ravioli for your pasta instead of the standard lasagna noodles. The brilliance of this idea not only saves time and energy, it automatically adds an extra dose of meat or cheese to an already cheesy dish. But the amount of time using uncooked ravioli makes this lasagna one version that should be at the top of every busy mom's dinner list.

Ravioli lasagna

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 (12 ounce) package frozen meatballs, thawed and sliced
• 1 (20 ounce) package of cheese or meat ravioli
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and spoon half a cup of tomato sauce along the bottom of the dish.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and sauté until tender, about five minutes.
3. Spread half the meatballs over the sauce. Top with half the ravioli, half the zucchini and one cup of cheese. Repeat the layers ending with the remaining mozzarella, cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

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