Comfort Food

Last night was so icky outside! I feel like all the rest of the East Coast got snow and lots of it but we were stuck with the treacherous sleet. Sure there was a very light dusting of snow before we went to bed last night but it was pretty much all just ice. I think that's the curse of living in Southern Maryland. We live under a weather blanket. Storms literally split around us; it's quite odd.

Anyway... because it was such a cold and dreary evening I decided we'd try a new soup recipe I'd gotten in an e-mail. I'm a huge fan of e-mails that send me recipes. I have a whole folder just to save the e-mails with meals in them that I think would be great to cook. But I digress. The soup I chose to make was a Slow Cooker Steak and Pasta Soup from Betty Crocker. I obviously knew it would be a gross evening so I was planning ahead with putting this in the crock pot before work. And I'm really glad I did. It was REALLY good. It was definitely different than any other soup I'd had but it was delicious. I actually can't wait for lunch to have my leftovers! Collin keeps saying things like "next time we have this..." and he told me a few times how much he liked it. That's how I know I've hit a jackpot recipe, when Collin keeps talking about it. =)

So, without further delay here's the recipe for the steak and pasta soup we had for dinner last night.


1 lb boneless beef round steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 jar (26 to 28 oz) marinara sauce
2 1/2 cups water
1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1.In 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix beef, marinara sauce and water.
2.Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3.Stir in ravioli. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes until ravioli are tender. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese.
Makes 5 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

It was super easy to make and really, really delicious. I used Prego Roasted Garlic Parmesan sauce instead of marinara because I like to have a bit more flavor with my pasta sauces than just plain marinara but I'm sure it would be good with any variety of red sauce you want to use. You can actually probably also replace marinara with alfredo or another kind of white sauce if you'd prefer. And the only thing I'd do differently than what I did this time is add more ravioli. I bought mine at BJ's so it came in a 64oz bag, slightly more than what the recipe called for. They were jumbo ravioli so I just put in what I thought would be a good amount - I used 10. I definitely should have put more in though! It was filling but it would have been nice to have more than just a few per bowl (and more for leftovers).

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! And if you try any variation of it, I'd love to know so I can try it! We'll definitely be having it again, especially since the prep was so quick and it just cooks all day in the crock pot! And it made the house smell so good! Enjoy this delicious recipe!

Cindy