Oh, do I have a great workaround for you, the answer is ravioli, yes, ravioli.  This is so yummy, and so easy to make.  It only takes only a few minutes of prep and its ready for the oven.  And it's just delicious....

2-24 ounce jars of pasta sauce (two jars gives you a generous amount of sauce, you can reduce this to 1.5 jars if you think two jars is too much.  I made it the first time using one jar, and it wasn't enough.
1 25 ounce bag of frozen cheese ravioli
1 lb of ground beef
2 cups of shredded Italian style cheese
1 teaspoon of basil
1 teaspoon of oregano

Steps

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan. Brown ground beef in skillet and add 3/4th of the sauce to meat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Pour remaining sauce in the bottom of casserole dish. Next layer frozen ravioli, then a layer of meat sauce and top with 1/2 the cheese. Layer ravioli again, meat sauce and cheese. Sprinkle basil and oregano on top layer of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving

Options

You can make a white lasagna using two jars of Alfredo Sauce and a bag of wilted spinach
Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms with the ground beef for even more flavor
Substitute Italian sausage for ground beef, or mix half and half

Notes

The Italian style shredded cheese contains Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Romano, Fontina, and Asiago cheese. You can use whatever cheese you like. I also used the Classico tomato and basil pasta sauce 

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I make it often, hubby and I love it.  Don't leave out the thyme, it's what makes this really special. 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2½ cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Biscuits and sausage patties or bacon, for serving

Steps:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, thyme and pepper. Gradually whisk in milk and cream until smooth.

Pour the mixture into skillet or saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve over biscuits and sausage patties or top with bacon.

And since this an indulgence with whole milk and whipping cream, I do have a healthier version that I fix regularly, sometimes we have it for dinner.  I'm a fan of CarbMaster 60 calorie per cup milk from Kroger, but you can use Fairlite or fat free milk as well.  Then use Fat Free Half and Half and Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles and you really reduce the calories to a more manageable level.  I also have a workaround for the biscuits.  I toast Sara Lee 45 calorie Delightful Multi Grain Bread and serve the gravy on toast points.  Not quite the same as the fully leaded, but still an excellent gravy on toast for a lot less calories.

Healthy Recipe with Nutritional Info:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour - 150 calories
2.5 cups CarbMaster Milk @60 calories per cup - 150 calories
1/2 cup fat free half and half - 71 calories
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Total - 371 calories

Half Recipe - 185 calories

Optional: Jimmy Dean Turkey Crumbles - 70 calorie per half cup

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The problem for me is I'm not a fan of mint, so that's out. 😐  I'm not really crazy about cucumber in salad either, and I would rather have roquefort cheese, feta is too bland.  And I would substitute almonds in this instead of pistachios.  This is probably why I don't lose weight, you have to eat this exact same salad, every day, for TEN years! 😳 Oh get real, Jan, I could eat this salad ever single day for the rest of my life and I still wouldn't look like them 😭

I do however like bulgar, chickpeas and red onion, so maybe I will alter this a bit and make it after I float a loan at Kroger's for pistachios.  But wait, they didn't eat dressing on this.  What?  No dressing? Oh, this is a game changer, I don't think I could eat salad with no dressing. 

Seriously, I do think this would be good with a drizzle of EVOO and a squeeze of lemon juice, made just like the recipe, but omitting the mint.

1 cup of bulgur

2 diced cucumbers

1 (15-oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

¼ cup finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

½ cup salted pistachios, chopped

Steps

Cook bulgur according to package instructions, and allow to cool completely.

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined.

Serve right away, or move to an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to a week.

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These yummy pull aparts are a variation of the famous monkey bread that has been around for years.  It was always baked in a bundt or angel food pan and it was really difficult to get cooked in the center without having the edges burn.  I had many doughy centers in the past with those cinnamon pull aparts and knew there had to be a better way.

Well there is!  Forget the bundt pan forget the angel food pan and bake them in a 9x13 pan.  Pure genius. These are so easy, so gooey, so good, grab the kids, have them help and you will have a pan of rolls to put in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning.

Ingredients:

24 Rhodes White Dinner Rolls, dough thawed to room temperature
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1.5 sticks butter, melted
1.5 Tbsp cinnamon

 Icing:

Sift powdered sugar, stir in cream, and vanilla, then drizzle over pan of inverted hot rolls.

 1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

Cut each roll in half with a pair of kitchen shears. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. If the rolls are still partially frozen I've found they're easier to cut.

Roll each roll piece first in butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Place pieces, touching,  in a 9x 13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Just put remainder of the pieces on top to form an additional layer.  Pour remaining butter and sugar over the top of the rolls. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap.

Let rise for 30 minutes.  I don't do this, I put in the oven overnight to bake the next morning.

Heads up coconut lovers, this pie is amazing, totally decadent, and the coconut crust is absolutely awesome.  The crust takes it from ordinary to sublime.

Back in August of 2002, I emailed the L.A. Food Times regarding a recipe that I had gotten from their S.O.S. site and lost.  We made it several times and it was one of those special to-die-for recipes, so I was not a happy camper when I misplaced the recipe.

After writing to them, they reposted the recipe for me in their food column, I came across it again today and wanted to put it on Jan CAN Cook before I lost it again.  If you want a truly wonderful dessert, forget about the calories and make this.  It’s really special.

~ jan

DEAR SOS: About five or six years ago you printed a recipe for Lawry's Coconut Pie. It had a coconut crust and was to die for. 

JAN 

DEAR JAN: This is a great pie for those who fail at making pie crusts. This crust is really simple, consisting of melted butter and coconut pressed into a pie plate. 

Lawry's Coconut Banana Cream Pie 

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling 

COCONUT PIE SHELL 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus more for pie plate 
3 cups sweetened flake coconut 

Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. 

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. They should be golden brown. Press the coconut firmly and evenly in the pan to form a shell. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling. 

PIE FILLING 

4 egg yolks 

3/4 cup sugar, divided 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup flour 

3 cups half-and-half, divided 

Yellow food coloring 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 bananas 

1 cup whipping cream 

1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, salt and flour in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of the half-and-half. 

Combine the remaining 2 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute. 

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. 

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell. 

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon in dollops or pipe with a pastry bag around the edge of the pie. Chill 2 hours before slicing. 

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 563 calories; 427 mg sodium; 182 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.62 grams fiber.

Update:  So many of you have found your way to this recipe via Pinterest, I appreciate all of the Pins, and hope you all enjoy this incredible pie.  I've received a few emails from people saying it was hard to cut through the crust, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps you are pressing the coconut into the pie pan, too firmly.  The majority of people seem to have no trouble with this, so I hope bit of information helps others who are going to bake this wonderful pie.  The response to it has been so positive, this is truly a one of a kind recipe.

Most of us can't visit this legendary restaurant, but what we can do is duplicate their famous meat sauce in our own kitchen.

I've struggled forever, trying to find the perfect peanut butter fudge recipe, and The View From Great Island, a wonderful blog site that I visit often, nailed it.  It's just perfection, don't change a thing, this will be your forever peanut fudge recipe, I promise it will.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup creamy peanut butter, I use Jif. Note: I do not recommend using 'natural' peanut butter.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb confectioner's sugar, about 3 1/2 cups

Directions

Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Note: you can use a 9×9 pan, or even a loaf pan.

Using a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Stir constantly to get the mixture well combined.

Turn the heat down to low and stir in the vanilla and salt.

Fold in the sugar with a silicone spatula or spoon. Make sure to get all the sugar incorporated and the fudge nice and smooth. The low heat will help this process.

When the fudge is smooth transfer to your prepared pan and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.

Let chill for at least 2 hours before slicing into small squares. If you have lined your pan with parchment paper or foil you can gently lift it out for neater slicing.

Fudge can be stored at room temperature, or in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.