We Love Chef Boyardee!

I remember being a young girl, opening up the kitchen cupboard, and seeing the can with the red label and the chef with the mustache – Chef Boyardee.  I have good memories of watching my parents heat up a can of Ravioli over the stove and enjoying the yummy taste once it was ready to eat.  Now my boys can find the red-labeled cans with the chef on the front of them in our cupboards and they LOVE to eat the different varieties!  We always have Ravioli, Mini Ravioli, and Beefaroni on hand.  When it goes on sale at the grocery store, I make sure I stock up on the boys’ (and my) Chef Boyardee favorites.

As a single mom of 3 boys, I sometimes plan our meals a week in advance but often cook on the fly.  How many of us parents have heard our child exclaim, “I’m starving!” before we realize it’s already time for dinner.  We often find ourselves scrambling to find something quick, delicious and easy to put on the table.  On these busy nights, we often need to whip up something wholesome that the entire family will enjoy – and something that can be ready in 30 minutes or less.

To help us out, Chef Boyardee has gone to their kitchen and come up with simple and delicious “Almost Homemade” meals that get dinner ready fast (30 minutes or less!) so you have more time gathered together at the kitchen table. These new recipes incorporate Chef Boyardee products as the main ingredient and range from Ravioli Lasagna to Chilli-roni – you can check out the five new recipes (which include cook times and ingredient lists) at http://bit.ly/qq5ucw.

We decided to try the Ravioli Lasagna and it is super yummy…..and easy to make!

Ingredients:

• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 cup frozen loose cut leaf spinach
• 2 can (15 oz each) Chef Boyardee® Beef Ravioli
• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes, drained well
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8×8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place spinach in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on HIGH 2 minutes; squeeze spinach dry.
2. Combine ravioli, drained tomatoes and Italian seasoning in medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on HIGH 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture is hot. Combine cottage cheese, spinach and black pepper in small bowl.
3. Place half of ravioli mixture in bottom of baking dish. Top with half of cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

I love Chef Boyardee products and this was a fun campaign to participate in!  My boys love Beefaroni, Ravioli, and Mini Ravioli, as do I.  The Ravioli Lasagna is a yummy dish that is affordable and easy to make.  A big thanks goes to Chef Boyardee and Mom Central for making this review on The Mommy-Files possible.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Chef Boyardee and received a gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.