Inside Out Ravioli Casserole

OMG....I am an old lady with a Nesco roasting oven.  How did this happen?  When I was a little kid almost every really old lady who's house I visited had one of these.  They always creeped me out because they were usually kept on the back porch and always looked grungy.  And now I have one....I actually have two for when I really make lots of food.  That's it, I'm done for, I am officially over the hill.  At least I keep mine pristinely clean.  It does work perfectly for feeding the after school kids.  This morning I made them inside out ravioli for their dinner.

 I sprinkled Italian sausage with garlic, onion, oregano, salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and hot pepper flakes.  Brown it and break up the sausage.

 Boil some bow tie pasta for about 6 minutes.  Don't overcook it.

 Add a bag of spinach to the sausage and stir it until it wilts.

 To 1 pound of sausage, add 1 large can of tomato sauce and 1 large can of crushed tomatoes and 2 cups of tomato juice.  Add 1 beef bouillon cube.  Cook and taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

 Pour the sauce over the noodles in your Nesco slow cooker and figure out how many more years you have to live.  Add 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese.

 Mix in 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.  Bake this in a slow oven until the cheese melts then sprinkle another cup of grated mozzarella and let it cook until it melts.  I am betting the kids are going to love this.

Comments

CalamityJr said…
Love this post! Besides another great recipe, you've provided us with a hilarious "What?! Me? I can't be getting old!" moment. What a fun way to start the day. Thank you!
Leanna said…
This is a "you know when you're too old" moment. Aahahahahaaaaa! I love it. I love all kinds of food. It happens when your daddy is a globe trotting Army lifer. Italian is one of my favorites to make and eat. But this is a great recipe that I have to put in my computer recipe file. Oh by the way, are you on Pinterest? I would love to see if you are.
Anonymous said…
I know those cookers well and I think they have come back in style because our major Hardware store Canadian Tire has several to choose from!!
Garry's mum cooked her turkey on one every year because she cooked two turkeys,, big family,,

this sounds amazing , the kids will gobble it up!
Anonymous said…
I am betting you are right.

Never hard of a Nesco cooker. I think you live in a different world than I do, though. Yours seems more magical.
Susan said…
I should not have been drinking my afternoon tea as I read your directions… Hoot! You are guaranteed a long life as long as your Nesco is kept in pristine condition. An old Chinese saying.
Anonymous said…
Pasta is really amazing. It is so easy to make and can be turned in to a delicious meal with very little things added to it. This is something I like :-)

Have a great day!

Christer.
Guillaume said…
Gosh this casserole looks good! My kind of dish on a cold day.

And by the way, please one day make this recipe:

http://tourtiere.comicgenesis.com/tourtiere-el.html

It's from my region.
"Never say never." Especially when it comes to the aging process!
Have not been on your site for a bit. ALWAYS and forever makes me hungry when I come here. What a lucky bunch of kids that get to be greeted with food like this after school...back in the 40's we were lucky if we got a couple of crackers and a glass of milk.
You food always looks so VERY, VERY delicious...and I am sure it is.
Got to go and get something to eat now...see why I can't come here all that often >

Love, Rose
chickpea678 said…
Thanks! This is what I'm making for a class potluck next Friday! You're a lifesaver!
1st Man said…
KIDS????! KIDS?!?!? Um "I" would love it!!

And you know what? I think we have that same Nesco roaster at the farm. We bought it for a turkey one year and haven't used it much. I"m going to go back and find your receipts in it and use it. DEFINITELY making your canned tomato sauce. That's a soon to happen project (once we get moved and settled).

Thanks for sharing!
I've seen them, and I hide them for purchase! But I don't own one! And I know I'm not over the hill, so don't be so hard on yourself! The casserole looks fantastic.
Rustic Pumpkin said…
I have wandered in here this morning by way of Guillaume's blog and I have to say you have cracked me up! I recently decided I must now be old because I had the passing thought that a bed jacket seems like a very good idea when reading in bed at night. Shock! Horror! I've settled for a comfy sweatshirt instead in an effort to hold on to my disappearing youth!
The recipe looks good and I will see what I can do to adapt it without meat as I'm vegetarian.
Craig said…
Hilarious! It does look very tasty indeed.
Unknown said…
it wasn't a nesco, but it was one of those roasters. it got years and years of service, and it did come to live on our porch, in a way. my parents enclosed the back porch on our farmhouse in the 1960s, and it became the laundry room/pantry, where the roaster, the washer and dryer, the upright freezer (mom canned or froze most of the garden bounty) and the mangle (anyone remember those?) came to live. my two closest aunts each had one of those roasters as well. --suz
Kay said…
I know I've said this before, but I sure wish I was your neighbor. I'd be over all the time seeing what you were up to.
linda said…
Wow. I have to try this one.. Looks so good.. I know the kids loved that!!