Ravioli with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, adapted from the Pioneer Woman Cooks

I have missed not having any spare time to share recipes with you-- my friends and lovely followers! Oh, how I've missed visiting my bookmarked blogs and being able to ooh and ahhh at all the tasty recipes that I've grown so addicted accustomed to reading!  I'll share the details, another day-- but the shortened version of my busy week is 1) We finally bought the house we've been renting for a few years-- yes!!! 2) The next day, I found out that I lost my job. Yep, it's called "bumping" when you work for a school district. Bumping happens when someone with seniority has their hours cut. Surprise, surprise! After a night of angst, I decided to accept my transfer to a different school site-- a few less hours, but it meant we didn't have to back out of our mortgage. 3) I got a new car (Honda Civic Hybrid), since my V-8 engine was going to make my new commute less affordable. A wild ride? Yes!  My appetite took a while to return, while I digested (sorry for the pun) these unexpected changes in my life. All is well, and I'm actually looking forward to my new job position-- though I will now be a 12-month employee, instead of 11-month. I am still mourning the loss of my beloved summer vacations.  Thanks for listening...

The Pioneer Woman and her "Punks". Photo by Ree Drummond

I lost my cooking mojo while taking this very wild ride, last week.  My camera never got turned on-- and I think this is a first for 1 1/2 years that I've been blogging!  I'm back, and I wanted to share a very quick dinner I made on Friday.  Do you remember that Antipasto Pasta Salad that I recently posted? I had some roasted red bell pepper, in a jar, that was left from that recipe.  I was tired, hungry and tired of eating out (which we did most of last week-- due to my aforementioned non-cooking mood).  The Pioneer Woman posted this recipe, last August.  Somehow, I remembered it. The recipe is so easy, that I didn't need to print it. I made a couple of adaptions-- very minor so let's get crackin'!

I always keep pine nuts in my freezer, so I toasted them and set them aside. If you want to see how to roast your own peppers, click here. Otherwise, drain a jar of roasted bell peppers.  I keep ravioli in the freezer, for nights I'm too tired to cook. These are vegetarian, but use whatever you like-- or use plain pasta. Start your water boiling, and be sure to salt it.

 The sauce takes minutes to make...

My food processor and I are a team; you can use a blender, but I find this easier.  I decided to add some Parmesan and a little bit of chicken stock to the puree-- these are my two changes to Ree's recipes.

So, now we have a red bell pepper puree' in just a minute or two!

Ree (The Pioneer Woman) uses onion. I chose shallots, because I love them. I think they're sweeter and they don't overpower sauces or salad dressings. Either way, saute' them in a little olive oil, then add a couple cloves of fresh garlic-- careful not to burn them! Shallots are high in sugar and can burn... garlic burns fast and turns bitter!  Now, add the puree.  Can you go wrong with adding heavy cream? No. But, I used a combination of more chicken stock (or vegetable stock, to keep it totally vegetarian) and less heavy cream. Now, taste the sauce. Add more salt, if needed (which it did).

I didn't have Italian parsley. My garden parsley isn't thriving-- yet. I made a butter leaf salad with this, so I grabbed two fresh chives, just to add color.  I also didn't shave any Parmesan cheese on this, which would have been really pretty.  Hey, I'm just getting my cooking mojo back!  Dig in.  Fast. Easy. Fresh. Delicious.

I have temporarily halted any activity on my sister blog "Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman Cooks".  My partner, Muneeba, is understandably very busy as a new mom.  I failed to mention that my new job will be a split shift-- 9am - 1pm, then 5pm - 9pm.  I live 50 miles away, round-trip.  I'm still trying to figure out how all this will work with my cooking schedule-- let alone my blogging schedule! I have several recipes that I hope to upload this coming week.  Thanks for hanging in there.  I have not forgotten that I mentioned a giveaway. It's coming, I promise.

VERDICT: The simplicity of this dish is perfect for  a work night dinner.  I would like to have a bit more garlic flavor, so I might considering pureeing a clove of garlic with the red bell peppers. A pinch of red pepper flakes would be good, too.  The leftover sauce can easily be converted into a soup-- just add more chicken stock and maybe a potato to thicken it.  Overall, husband, son and Yours Truly liked it. The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.   I am also submitting this recipe to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted by Chaya at Comfy Cook, this week.  The roundup will be posted on May 14th, so please come and see who's been cooking pasta at home!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women!  I hope tomorrow is special for you.

Love,