Ravioli Soup: When Plain Ravioli Just isn't Good Enough
I
got this recipe from Taste of Home website just by Googling Ravioli
Soup. I forget where I first got the idea, some where on the net to be
sure. I love all things pasta, bread, grains...really anything and
everything bad for you right? But I'm on this...I'm not going to kill
myself before I'm 30 kick. So I know I just can't keep eating all the
bad crap. I need to make healthier choices...even if it's one healthy
choice per meal. Life changes one choice at a time right?
Ok
way too deep. Anyway, back to the shallow soup. Yes, I'm quite clever.
The soup is not necessarily what you would want if you want chicken
noodle soup. You can make it more "soupy" so to speak but I loved it
lumpy and filling. If you click on the link below the picture it takes
you straight to the recipe that I used. However, I changed it up in
several ways so my opinion of this does not necessarily have any reflect
on their recipe one way or another.
Let's start with the ingredient list. Which I took fabulous pictures of, of course.
Told
you it was pretty! So. As you can see ... I need to buy more spices!
No, but in all seriousness there were several ingredients I did not
have. Such as the second 14 oz can of tomatoes, onion salt, nor did I
have actual onions. I love to use actual ingredients so being out of
onions plus the salt...blew. In hindsight, I liked the sweeter version
that I made.
Ingredients
I added. I added colorful ripe bell peppers which gave the soup a
sweeter taste and more of a texture that both me and my little one
really enjoyed. I have two colors of peppers because I can actually
taste the difference. My favorite are the orange and red so I used
though. Two were more than enough. I used two huge cloves of fresh
garlic. You can NEVER have too much garlic. ... No really...you can't.
It's impossible.
I
really wanted to add Chicken stock. It turns out that it has been in my
fridge for a REALLY really really long time. I became aware of this due
to the acidic terrible smell that wafted from the top when I opened it.
Tip - Don't use out of date chicken stock. I'm lucky it smelled so
terrible before I put it in the soup.
As
you can see, there is a half empty wine bottle in the back. It is a
super sweet red wine that honestly, I can't drink on a regular basis. So
I'm slowly but surely getting rid of it. One large splash at a time.
Again, the soup was not sweet but due to the wine and bell peppers it
did have a lovely sweeter taste and I wouldn't have had it any other
way.
When
the recipe called for the tomatoes...I was not concerned with brand.
Sometimes you need a better brand. Like with toilet paper. But
tomatoes...no. As you can see, I bought a frozen brand of ravioli due to
it's cheaper cost. I chose to get tiny rounds instead of big raviolis
and it made the soup strategically easier to eat. I chose to do cheese
because mushroom wasn't available. Seriously. I LOVE mushroom ravioli.
Otherwise there were just meat choices which I thought was
counter-intiutive as I was already adding a meat.
Right
the meat. How did I make this healthy do you ask? First, the cheese
ravioli because it doesn't have meat is healthier. I also used fresh
vegetables as I mentioned before but the healthiest choice that, in my
opinion, didn't change the taste of the dish was the meat. Instead of
ground beef, I used ground turkey. I used Jeannie O which is usually all
natural. It says on the package. See. You looked. It's ok. I did too.
Now... some people could be like me with bell peppers and be able to
taste the difference between the beef and turkey but I think because of
the strong taste of the garlic and tomatoes you won't notice the
difference.
Just
changing beef to turkey makes a huge difference in how healthy the dish
has become. It has less grease and less fat. Less sodium, etc.
HOWEVER...there is a less difference if you are buying lean beef which
you could be. It's usually more expensive especially when it's organic
or all natural but some people prefer to do it that way.
Ok to begin I started cooking the ravioli. Now the biggest bestest tip I could give you. How do you know when it's done???
As
you can see, the rounds are super tiny! Anyway, you know ravioli is
done when it floats to the top. Do I know this for sure...well no. I
forget where I learned it but it has been a true and tested way to tell
when it's done. Never failed for me.
Then
I took it out and strained it. Using the same pot to cook the ground
turkey. As that cooked I put together all the dry ingredients. I did not
have fresh parsley so I used dry.
Yep,
that's a plastic fishy bowl. Uh huh. No judgement. No, in reality it's
always better to use glass or metal while cooking but the ingredients
were dry so it wasn't a super big deal.
What beautiful Veggies!
As
you can see, there isn't a whole lot of veggies. But with using less
tomatoes, I made the entire dish a bit smaller and it all worked.
After
you cook the turkey which takes about ten minutes, you add all the
other crap. Yep...well except the pasta. You save that for last.
This
is how it should look (basically) after you've added everything but the
ravioli. You let it boil, then turn it down to simmer. Put the lid on
and relax for 30 minutes. This really lets all the spices and garlic
permeate the entire dish. I would even say the time to simmer is vital
to how it will taste. Again, just personal preference. Not like it's
life or death or anything. *wink*
Thirty
minutes later...after you've watched that new episode of Enlisted,
because why not? You come back and add your ravioli. Stir, and I would
let sit for another five minutes to heat. Then I did the most amazing
part. I added a crap ton of Parmesan cheese throughout and I added it to
the top of the final bowl. My darling little me decided against cheese
on the top which I thought was a poor decision but I let her decide.
This is my final product in my very lovely beautiful amazing smooth shiny bowl. You can tell I like my dishware huh?
DE-FREAKING-LISH! I loved it. I have a terribly sore throat and it was smooth and warm. The vegetables added excellent flavors and the spices were a great choice. I loved the taste of the turkey and felt like I was making a healthy choice.
NOW the most important part. The ratings.
Directions - 5 out of 5. The directions were easy, concise, and to the point.
Taste- 5 out of 5 no doubt. I will be cooking this again.
Presentation - 5 out of 5. Isn't my bowl amazing! Ok ok a 3. I know the websites picture looks better. Sigh.
Versatility
(I'm adding this as a rating) - I would give it a 4. You can't
completely change the dish but you can add so much or take a away
ingredients and it's the same dish, essentially.
Lifetime
Percentage - 99% going to make this again. It was easy, I can change it
up, and frankly it was delicious. For a person who is not so adept at
cooking, a dish like this! Where you'd have to be kind of an idiot to
screw it up - makes it perfect for me to make.
On
that idiot note, if you got your feelings hurt. First - I'm 100% sure
you'll get over it. Second - I left my cell phone in the cabinet behind
the soup. No idea how or why. But when my husband called that's where I
found it. Proceed with your damn giggles.
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Yes
you read that correctly. If you are freaking nuts then you want to make
this ...tart? Apple confection? Rose structure? However you want to try
to work it out in your brain, you are bat ...crazy for making this. Or
like me, you love a challenge!
Click
the link under the picture and it gives directions on how to make this.
Now I am sorry for my lack of photos, but I hadn't thought of this blog
when I was making it so the only pictures I have are the outcome, which
you will see once you read all this crap.
Now
for the first part of it...you slice a crap ton of apples. The easiest
way to do this is by using a mandala. I borrowed one from the in-laws, a
nice one. With the one I used...I actually think that anyone that cuts
themselves using a mandala must be an idiot. Sorry if I offend 99% of
everyone who reads my blog, but come on. Just make sure your
fingers...um AREN'T in it before you slide it. Seemed simple. Ten apples
and completely non sliced fingers later I got to making the goo as I
call it. Pretty much the mixture the apples will be in. When you first
do this, taste an apple. O MY GOODNESS! Heaven in your mouth, I swear.
The crispness of the apples plus the sugar, etc., is amazing. Then you
think you can start curling your apple pieces because they are as thin
as they come.
This
is the point when you realize you're wrong. Just saying. You need to
microwave just like the recipe suggests. Only for about 20-30 seconds,
anymore and you've just ruined all your wonderful thinly sliced apples.
At this point you cannot just curl the first portion with your fingers
and set it down. It will unravel. Let me repeat that. No screw that, you
can read. Anyway, you need to do the first couple of rows while you
hold it in your hands in place. This is only slightly tricky. Really,
sounds harder than it is. When you have a rose bud you can set it down
and it should stay put. Then you just set down apple slices around it in
varying sides, making a rose. It is very easy...not.
It
started kind of easy until you realize that even after
microwaving...some apple slices will not cooperate. You then realize
that you are going incredibly slowly. While you are taking your time you
notice that some of your apples are falling apart. What the heck?
Yep...that's right. If those apples stay together too long without you
using them, they start to fall apart. Don't ask me why, I have no
earthly idea. I'm sure someone could tell you. But that's not me. So you
actually can't take your time, unless you intend on wasting a fourth of
your apples, which I actually did. I also ended up eating a bunch of
the ruined pieces. I no longer like apples. I kid you not. Don't do eat
them, you will stop liking apples too. I'm actually hoping the not
liking apple thing will go away...but so far, three months later, it
hasn't.
So
after you make your roses in your prospective pans, you drizzle with
sugar, brown sugar, and spices and stick in your oven. This is fairly
easy and as long as you watch, you'll know by the color when it's done.
Just trust me on that.
This is what it came out like for me - two separate pie pans, way too many freaking roses.
Before
After
Ok So it
turns out that presentation is ACTUALLY important. If I ever did this
again and managed not to kill myself in the process, I would buy a
pretty pan like the original poster did. I would also not buy store
ready made crust that doesn't bend to my will. But all in all, look that
those roses! What damn fine roses if I say so myself. Took hours.
Hours. Days. Years. Took forever.
But ... it look so pretty! And it was amazing. Tasted like apple pie well except better, since I made it.
So moral
of the story. This (if you actually make it well) will blow away your
relatives. No one wanted to eat it because it looked so pretty, but when
they did it was gone in a second. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 on the
directions. A four because she said it was easy. Boo!
I give it a 5 out 5 on taste. Nothing can go wrong with that amount of sugar.
I give mine a 2 out of 5 on presentation. Yes, yes roses are gorgeous but that's it.
Finally on a lifetime scale of me making it again...I give it a 2% chance. Maybe when I'm fifty.
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