Italian Recipes - Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients                     

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 26- to 28-ounce jars sun-dried tomato pasta sauce

• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed

• 2 25-ounce packages frozen cheese-filled ravioli

• 2 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (10 ounces)

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Method:

1. Lightly coat a 5 1/2-or 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. For sauce, in a 12-lnch skillet cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning into meat mixture in skillet.

3. Spoon 1 cup of the meat mixture into prepared cooker. Add one package of the frozen ravioli and sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese. Top with half of the remaining meat mixture.

4. Add remaining package of the ravioli and 1 cup of the remaining cheese. Top with remaining meat mixture. (Wrap and chill remaining cheese until needed.)

5. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Turn off slow cooker. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.