No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole (Vegetarian)

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This is a quick and easy recipe for No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole that will feed a crowd, with less than 5 minutes of prep time the whole thing comes together easily in 30 minutes.

Sometimes you just need a casserole.

And you guys this was that time.

You know that we have been trying out damndest to eat good, and plan ahead , but sometimes life just happens. We found out on a Monday that we were closing on our house on Friday, and realized that because it had been pushed back so far (sigh) we needed to get started on the floors immediately and work our butts off to get them done in a week.

But people still need to eat.

Leave it to me to constantly be thinking of food first however.

I decided to make a casserole that could get us through the weekend. And it did, in a wonderful fashion. I was able to through it together in one pan, with hardly any prep time and it was delicious, as well as filling and satisfying. I did use all prepackaged ingredients, which kind of goes against my base food philosophy, but desperate times man.

This recipe was a hit! Chuck loved it and said I should make it again sometime. Despite it not having meat! I was totally impressed and probably will make it again, since it was seriously so easy. This recipe is also super filling so we were able to eat it for several lunches and dinners before it was all gone.

I want to mention that you can totally add cooked ground beef, or turkey to this if you want, just brown the meat with some taco seasoning and add it in with or instead of the beans and corn. I chose not to for this recipe because 1)we are trying to eat less processed meat and 2) that was another step in the process I was not willing to add 3)the recipe without meat is way cheaper. I have made this same recipe with meat before and it was just as well received as this particular time.

Also don’t mind the last minute smart phone photos, and gross 80s counters, this is what the first days of home ownership looks like kids. It’s not as glamorous as you originally thought now is it?

No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole (Vegetarian)

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 32 mins

Serves: 5-6 Servings

Ingredients

1 jar of salsa
1 (20 ounce) package of frozen cheese ravioli
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained & rinced
1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained & rinced
1 (15 ounce) can cut corn in water, drained
1 jar of taco sauce
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a 9×13 baking pan spread the jar of salsa, covering the bottom of the pan.
Add about half the package of ravioli in one layer on top of the salsa, do the same with the black beans, pinto beans and corn.
Add another layer of ravioli, and then beans and corn.
Top with an even layer of taco sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the ravioli is cooked through and cheese melted.
Serve immediately.

Our New House (Photos)

By Jessica

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Ok so I finally got my act together and put together a post with pictures or our lovely new home.

First thing you walk into here is the living room. I love the window and the fireplace, those and the closets in this place were enough to pretty much sell me.

Next up is the kitchen & dining room. Neither are huge, but they are a vast improvement on my current situation, and I have big plans for the spaces, including a nice big door where the dining room window is. There’s too much I want to do in the kitchen to even really talk about here, so we will save that for another day as well.

Down the hall is the bright bathroom, sans tub. That’s right this one bathroom place has no tub. It’s depressing, but that will be changing hopefully soon, fingers crossed this wedding doesn’t make its way into the tub budget. I’m also not a huge fan of the paint color. It kind of clashes with my hair, so it must go.

The two smaller bedrooms are just fine. Big closest and I like the paint colors, so those will get set up no problem.

The master on the other hand needs a carpet and some paint. We are putting all this effort into the floors, I’m not letting flying dog bones ruin them. This means we are the quest for a perfectly soft and squishy carpet for our bare feetsies for this room. I’m thinking a nice light grey will brighten up the room, without being too much and it’s super versatile.

And there you have it our little home. There’s also a large basement and a fenced in back yard for the little man that you don’t see here, but I’m sure they will be shared soon enough. We are working hard right now to get these floors done so that we can actually move in sometime this week, so please bear with me over here while I try to keep this blog going in between work, construction and moving.

Any moving or floor advice? We could use it all right now.

Recently

By Jessica

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So the big news of this month was closing on our first house, but there was a number of other things that happened this month.

Got to meet up with my favorite Philly Blogger Chrystina when she passed through town.

…and subsequently got my first sunburn of the season. Lunch on the patio, I should have seen it coming. sigh. If you need tips on dealing with a sunburn naturally check out this post.

My bridal shower & bachellorette party were held and they both turned out great!

Started working on some baby blanket projects for upcoming bundles.

I went to Laconia Bike Week for the first time this year. It was a blast, despite some logistics issues. I will definitely try to go again next year.

I was also reminded how much I really do enjoy long car rides with Chuck. We get to talk about so much, and with the hectic few months we’ve had, it was really nice.

We also got to work right away on getting the house move in ready. Floor sanding and garden work galore!!! It’s been a task but we are getting through it!

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

By Jessica

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This is a simple recipe for a chopped chicken salad with Thai style dressing.

As you can probably assume things are a little crazy around these parts since we just closed on our house last week, so getting together a recipe post for this week has been a bit difficult. I decided instead today to resurrect an old post that I wrote for The Charming Blog (which is now defunct) almost a year ago. This Thai Grilled Chicken Salad has been a big favorite of both me and Chuck, so I think you guys will enjoy it here too.

Salad is one of those things that people consider rabbit food, you know not real food. This however is one of those life changer type of salads that can turn a real meat and potatoes types into actual salad lovers.

It’s loaded down with veggies and chicken, and a super amazing deliciously sweet salad dressing.

There are a million textures going on and with each of the textures comes a super bright fresh flavor, and it is all brought together with that sweet zingy dressing.

I’m gushing, I know, but seriously, its salad. It’s a delicious wonderful, nourishing salad. It’s also hearty, and satisfying, and filling salad, that can feed the whole family without trouble.

I just grilled the chicken with salt and pepper, but don’t be afraid to use leftover or premade chicken. It will blend into the flavors just fine.

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

Dressing
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Salad
16 ounces frozen shelled edamame
4 cups mixed greens, chopped
2 cups chopped Napa cabbage
1 cucumber, diced
1 cup shredded carrot
½ red bell pepper, sliced
½ yellow bell pepper, sliced
4 chopped green onions
½ cup fresh cilantro
1 lb cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients and set aside. Cook the edamame according to package instructions and set aside to cool. Meanwhile chop the rest of your vegetables, and toss them together in a large bowl. Top with chicken and serve with the dressing at the side.

We Bought a House

By Jessica

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So do remember way back when I kind of announced that Chuck and I were going to start looking for a house? Well after just a few months we found one! The closing took a couple weeks but as of last night the place is ours!!!

Phew! I have been holding in my excitement for weeks now and o-m-g does it feel good to finally tell you guys what has been keeping us busy/stressed/sleepless and everything else.

I cannot even contain my excitement. I have been daydreaming of owning a home since childhood. That’s not a joke, I was never into planning my wedding, but I always wanted to play house, in fact I always wanted to build the house too. Early signs of the engineer right there.

Of course celebrations included take out, champagne and camping out on the floor. We like to keep it classy around here. It was absolutely amazing to wake up in a home that is all ours!

I am thrilled to finally have a place to make my own, and experiment with my own style. I’m especially excited to have a place to start perennial plants, and a berry patch. My garden can finally fulfill all of my dreams!!

Brody is ecstatic to have a fenced in back yard where he can roam free. There is even a doggy door for him so he can come and go as he pleases if mom and dad are running late, which is a huge relief for us.

This place is a bit of a fixer upper, and I’m sure Chuck is just thrilled to get started on all the projects that I have planned (HA!). To name a few we will be refinishing the floors, adding some doors to the outside and a deck, a patio, a new septic, paint obviously, shelves, and a new kitchen back splash. I hope your ready for some DIY posts.

I planned on having pictures today for you of the whole house, but Saturday morning we started working on our floors. We are redoing them ourselves and man, is it a chore. We are all exhausted, even Brody. So forgive me, but I will try to post with pictures soon, very soon.

No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole (Vegetarian)

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