Lazy Lasagna

This is one of those times where i'm going to go on record saying that its really easy to make something that other people find difficult...

That thing is lasagna.  it seriously takes no brain power - just a bit of time.  and one day, i'll even get around to blogging about how easy it is...

but today is not that day.  because, ravioli lasagna?  its even easier...  like, i'm going to out on a limb and say that i think that, with a little help, even my 2.5 year old nephew could put this one together. (If i was in NC right now, i'd test it out, but i'm not so, um, sister, mom, dad?  someone get on that.  take pictures and video please because its going to be a legendary mess but i bet it will still taste good in the end...)  which is why i've dubbed it lazy - because the amount of effort required is so minimal that even the least motivated version of yourself can pull this one off.

In fact, I'm pretty sure this is one of those dinners where preheating the oven takes longer than actually assembling the dish - perfect for a weeknight, a sunday night or really any other time you can think of...

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Lazy Lasagna
courtesy of Real Simple - modified by me

1 tbsp olive oil

5 - 6 c fresh baby spinach*

~20 oz roasted garlic spaghetti sauce
2 packages large fresh ravioli - uncooked - (13 to 15 oz each package)
1.5 c shredded mozzarella
1/3 c of your favorite grated cheese - we used a combo of pecorino romano & parmesan

crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper (all optional depending on your taste and how spiced up your sauce already is)

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Preheat oven to 350°

lightly grease 2.5 qt casserole dish if you are afraid of stickage.  Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and add the spinach in.  Stir around until just wilted and remove from heat. *

place ~ 1/3 of your tomato sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish

layer in half of your ravioli - make sure the bottoms of all of the ravioli are touching plenty of sauce (this is what allows them to cook in the oven)

top with all of your spinach

sprinkle with 1/2 of your grated cheese

sprinkle with 1/2 of your shredded mozzarella

place a few spoonfuls of sauce over the cheeses and spread as best as you can without making a mess of the cheese

sprinkle with crushed red pepper, salt & black pepper, if desired

layer in the rest of your ravioli

top with remaining tomato sauce.  Again, make sure that all ravioli are well-coated with sauce and that there are no naked edges showing.

top with remaining grated cheese

top with remaining shredded cheese

cover (either with your fancy casserole cover or with tin foil) and bake ~ 25 minutes.

Remove cover and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the cheese gets a little bit bubbly and maybe even a bit brown around the edges

Allow to cool for 5 minutes & then cut as you would normal lasagna and serve.

Serves 3 - 4 for dinner, depending on what you serve it with ;)

*note: for the 2.5 year old making it version, feel free to use frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out