Home Made Ravioli

These long winter days are a great time to get some family and friends together to do some cooking together and what better to make than homemade ravioli. On this post, I will be sharing Edyth Monday's family recipe that we made at Newhaven last weekend. Edyth and her husband, Tony, and her sister, Theresa, live there with my mom. They remind me so much of my dad's two aunts, Sarah and Elizabeth!!

Edyth's family gets together before the holidays and makes ravioli to be served at Christmas. Even Tony gets into the flour and does a great job making great little pasta squares filled with meat or cheese. You can tell that Edyth and Tony and Theresa have been doing this all of their lives as they knew just how to knead and handle the dough. It is just so natural for them... It is a joy to watch !!!

Their family favorite filling is cheese. In my family, there was never cheese ravioli, only meat--- maybe, because my dad was a butcher and meat was the only kind of protein to eat!!

It really doesn't matter what you might like to fill this pasta with. The idea of bringing friends and/or family together to prepare something special makes for wonderful memories...... and that is PRICELESS!!!


Ravioli Dough
4 c. flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbl. olive oil

Measure flour and salt into a medium sized bowl and make a well in the center of the flour. Mix eggs and oil together along with 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. water. Add to flour mixture. You may need to add a bit more water so that the dough comes together. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface til smooth. Let the dough rest for 10-30 minutes ( or even overnite). Then roll dough thin to make your ravioli. Makes about 80 ravioli.

Cheese Filling
2 # ricotta, drained well
2 beaten eggs
1 c. grated cheese (Romano or Parmesan)
1/4 c. parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder

Blend all ingredients together and place a small spoonful into each ravioli square. Makes about 80 ravioli.


Meat Filling
1 1/2 # ground beef, browned and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
1 -10 oz pkg. frozen, chopped, spinach ( drained)
1/2 c. grated cheese (Romano or Parmesan)
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together and place a small spoonful into each ravioli square. Makes about 80 ravioli.

Peanut Butter Crock Pot Candy

Peanut Butter Crock Pot Candy

Now that the Christmas decorations are finally put away, it is time to start thinking of the next holiday-- St. Valentine's Day!! And what better way to celebrate and tell those around you that they are appreciated than giving them some chocolates!!!! In this installment of this blog, I am posting a variation of the earlier candy recipe that my daughter, Maria, shared with me before Christmas. This new recipe is more like a peanut butter melt-away. A small box of a variety of these chocolates would be a nice little treat to share with friends and family this Valentine's Day............... It will be here before you know it!! :)

Peanut Butter Crock Pot Candy

1 c. Milk Chocolate candy discs

1 c. White Chocolate candy discs

1 1/4 c. Peanut butter-- Chunky would be good

Put chocolates in a crock pot for an hour or so... stirring periodically til melted. Once close to melted, add the peanut butter and stir til blended. Pour into lined tassie pans and refrigerate til firm. ( You can also put the chocolates in a pyrex bowl and put into a 150 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Check for meltedness ( is that a word??), then add peanut butter). This made about 75 candies.