Taking a Little Help for a Quick Dinner

Before I get into last night's tasty dinner, let me quickly recap my race this past Saturday, the Pre-Father's Day 5k. It was another really nice morning for a race; fairly cool and a little overcast. I was planning on running the race with just my dad, but at the last minute, my husband Mark decided to run too. My not-so-secret goal is to one day have my whole family participate in a race, whether doing the run or the walk that often happens concurrently. Anyway, the course was nice and flat with lots of shade, but regardless of that, I still felt pretty rough the whole time. I guess it was because I was running at a fast pace for me. I finished in 23:16, a new PR! Mark and my dad both finished in under 27 minutes for their first ever 5k, which is better than I can say about my first race. I have heard rumors that the course is about .1 miles short, but I really don't know. I guess I will get a gauge of that when I run my next 5k. Another bonus about this race was the abundance of raffle prizes that were given away. There must have been at least 30 gift cards. Now I never win anything, but somehow I won a gift card to Spellbinders, a local surf shop. Mark and my dad won too, a Dunkin Donuts gift card and a free oil change. Speaking of running, the Jersey Shore Running Club Summer Series begins tomorrow. It's a series of six 5k races on Thursday evenings throughout June and July. The cost is minimal, and it will be a great way to meet club members, since I finally went ahead and joined JSRC. And last but not least, I am running the George Sheehan Classic 5 mile race on Saturday. I have a bone to pick with this hilly course since I ran it so slow last year.

On to the food! Now normally, I am not one to buy pre-made stuff. In fact, the only things typically in my freezer are frozen fruits, out of season frozen veggies, coconut milk ice cream, and ice packs. But, on my last shopping trip to Whole Foods, the prepared raviolis caught my eye. There were multiple varieties, all of which sounded tasty, and each box had 2 servings, which was perfect. Best of all, there were no funky ingredients that I couldn't pronounce. I settled on a package of broccoli rabe mozzarella raviolis. They were a tad pricey, but certainly not prohibitively, and I figured they would come in handy on a night where I was short on ideas but still wanted a filling meal. Last night turned out to be that night. While the pasta water came to a boil and the raviolis cooked, I put together a quick, rustic marinara sauce. Just some olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper flake, and canned crushed tomatoes brought to a boil and simmered for a few minutes. I added seasoning and some of the oregano that is growing like crazy in my garden for extra fresh flavor. I also threw together a salad of romaine, carrot, and radish with a simple shallot vinaigrette. When the raviolis were done, I divided them between two plates and topped them generously with the marinara sauce. The verdict? Good and convenient. Not the best ravioli I've ever had, but for being frozen, they were pretty tasty. I wish there was more pronounced broccoli rabe flavor; perhaps the sauce was a little too much for it to come through. Would I buy these raviolis again? Probably. I'd like to try another flavor. Like I said, these are good in a pinch, and you can get creative with sauces to top them. Marinara, something red pepper based, maybe a creamy garlic sauce. I wouldn't call myself a frozen food convert, but it is nice to know there are products out there that I can feel good about keeping around for convenience's sake.