Naked Ravioli

No need for me to miss out on my favorite Italian flavors just because I'm avoiding carbs - and therefore pasta. Everyone in the WLS community is aware of a dollop of ricotta served with red sauce, but what if you somehow ennobled that ricotta with flavor? What is that ricotta were really your favorite ravioli filling? 

I whipped this up this afternoon and both the wife and I loved it. Sorry, I didn't measure, so as they say in Italy, use "Tanto quanto" - or "as much as you need"

Low fat ricotta cheese and/or low fat cottage cheese, blended smooth
cooked spinach, chopped fine
onion, small dice, sautéed tender
garlic, finely chopped (and/or garlic powder)
grated Parmesan cheese

powdered milk (optional)
Sugar free marinara sauce
Shredded mozzarella


Chop onion and spinach fine, sauté and allow to cool.
Mix top 5 ingredients and add powdered milk if needed to dry out the mixture.
Form into balls.

For each serving:
place a couple teaspoons of marinara in the bottom of a ramekin or oven-proof bowl.
Make a layer of the naked ravioli balls.

Cover with more red sauce, a layer of shredded mozzarella and a healthy sprinkling of Parmesan

Bake at 350 - 400 F for 25 to 30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and cheeses are melted

Cook's Note: Since I first made this I've gone crazy with the add-ins. You can put anything in the mix that you would want in a ravioli. I recommend Italian Sausage crumbles.
I now keep a batch of the filling mixture in the fridge for a quick lunch treat, scooping some into a bowl, top with jarred sugar free marinara and microwave for a couple minutes to heat thru - top with mozzarella and allow it to melt.. YUMMY and fast!!