Quick Cheesy Ravioli Bake

Here's another Best 30-Minute Recipe.  I'm telling you, I'm loving this stuff.

To complete this recipe in 30 minutes, boil the water for the ravioli and preheat the oven before gathering your ingredients.  We prefer fresh ravioli here; however, 1 lb of frozen cheese ravioli can be substituted.

Ingredients

1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 T olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T tomato paste

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3 T minced fresh basil

1/4 heavy cream

salt and ground black pepper

2 (9 ounce) packages fresh cheese ravioli

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.  Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. 

Cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking meat up with wooden spoon until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Drain meat and set aside. 

Add oil, garlic, and tomato paste to skillet and return to medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in tomatoes and reserved sausage and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in basil and cream and continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat, cover, and set aside. 

Add 1 T salt and ravioli to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until tender.  Drain ravioli and return to pot. 

Stir sauce into ravioli and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread mixture into 13 by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella.  Bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Serve.