When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Make Sweet Potato Ravioli

Or something like that..

One of the most exciting (and kind of annoying) things about life is the unexpected twists and turns that it can take.  When life throws you a curve ball, you have a couple of choices.  You can freak out.  Panic.  Stress out to the point where you can't even remember what see you off in the first place.  Or, you can figure out some small way to make you smile and forget about whatever ails you.

And that is reason # 377,684,958,950 why I cook.

Tonight, I got home from a long day of work and was happy that there was delicious lasagna waiting for me, but kinda bummed that I couldn't get into the kitchen to chop away the stresses of the day.  So I came up with a little project to help me figure out what to do with leftover homemade lasagna sheets.  (Hell would have to freeze over (twice) and pigs would be casually be flying our friendly skies before I'd let them go to waste.)  Because I can't eat them tonight, I'm making them up to freeze them and save them for a rainy day.  Since I'm not making and hand rolling the dough, it's a nice easy weeknight project that will yield fabulous results.  An added bonus, I don't have to panic about any food going to waste (there is not much more I hate then wasting food).

Below are my instructions for homemade sweet potato ravioli.  I can only imagine what creative sauce I will come up with to top it off.  Stay tuned!



Sweet Potato Ravioli
- 1 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
- A couple of pinches of fresh ground nutmeg (already ground is fine too)
- A couple of healthy pinches of cinnamon
- A small pat of butter
- A couple of pinches of brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- fresh lasagna sheets, cut into 3 inch X 3 inch squares
- 1 egg

Cut the sweet potato into even slices and boil them until fork tender.  Drain and mash with a potato masher.  Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Give them a taste and add more spices and sugars until they taste yummy.  In a small bowl, beat the egg and add a splash of water to the egg mixture to create an egg wash.  With a pastry brush, brush one square with the egg wash.  Add a small spoonful of potato.  (Don't over stuff!)  Lay another square of lasagna on top and pinch the two squares together tightly, making sure to get out as much air as possible.

To freeze, lay a piece of wax paper onto a cookie sheet and put a single layer of ravioli on top.  Add another piece of wax paper and another layer of ravioli on top.  Keep layering until the pan is filled up.  Place the pan in the freezer overnight.  The next day, put the ravioli into a plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. When you want to have them, you won't need to thaw them, you can just put into a pot of boiling, salted water for a couple of minutes until they rise to the top.  Then cook about another 30 seconds to a minute longer.  Top them with whatever your little heart desires.