Taking Shortcuts In the Kitchen With the Kids: Baked Spinach Walnut Ravioli with Cheese Sauce

One thing I have always wanted to be is real! There's not too much that I hide, aside from the dust bunnies that I sweep under my couch when guest are coming over, but, you all don't see that anyway! Really though, I don't want to hide things from my readers either. I've told you all before that our meals are not always served with a smile and that the meals are not always good but did you know that I too enjoy taking shortcuts every now and then? Yep, I do! And when I found the idea of using wonton wrappers for "homemade" ravioli from my new cookbook, The Whole Family Cookbook, I was thrilled! Woohoo! What an amazing idea!

The girls and I needed to get something whipped up quickly the other night so I took the idea of using wonton wrappers and pulled out some ingredients we usually have around and put together a great filling.



You didn't think I wouldn't put my girls to work helping with the shortcut dinner? Never! They had to be part of this excitement too! It was a hoot hearing their comments about using these things called wonton wrappers. My oldest had a tough time understanding that we were using something that was advertised to be used in Asian dishes.


They had fun with the texture of the squares, especially when they brushed them with water. But, the greatest were the shapes they created for the raviolis.

I highly recommend trying these with your kids! It was great to have them stuff and fold while I made our cheese sauce. Great team work!


Baked Spinach Walnut Ravioli with Cheese Sauce

24 wonton wrappers (we used Naysoya Asian Style Wonton Wrappers)
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 10 oz. package of organic frozen spinach (cook and squeeze out excess water)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup mushrooms (cremini, oyster, button worked well)
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
In a medium skillet heat butter and saute garlic. Add mushrooms and let cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in remainder ingredients and set aside to let cool.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread wonton wrappers out on a clean dry surface. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of mixture onto the middle of the wrapper. Fold and gently pinch ends together. Using a pastry brush, dampen sides to create a seal. Add ravioli to greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

Cheese sauce

1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 block of cream cheese
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat butter in saucepan. Once melted, add flour to create a roux. Whisk in milk making sure not to have any lumps. When smooth add cheeses and let heat stirring to create sauce. Add more flour to thicken if needed.