Garden Veggie and Ravioli Skillet with Pistachio Herb Butter.

I kind of just want a big bowl of this to curl up to.

I mean, doesn’t it look good? It’s pasta, pasta filled with cheese actually, and covered in pistachio butter. I just could not think of a better meal right now.

It’s pretty much all the things I am loving and craving at this very moment in time.

Granted, it’s pouring here (what’s new) so obviously I am cold (again, what’s new – lots of rain lately, but sunshine and warm temps are expected tomorrow and for the next week – pretty psyched!) so obviously a big bowl of pasta will cheer me up!

Ok but in all seriousness, I really do love this recipe. It’s got some much of summer in it too, yet it’s still cozy and satisfying at the very same time. I do not know if you guys noticed, but I am pretty good at these “cozy” summer meals. I seem to have a way of making all food – healthy or indulgent, cozy. I’m just a sucker for all things cozy.

Also, how many times did I just say cozy? Waaay toooo many I am thinking.

Do you remember on Sunday how I was talking about simple recipes?? Yeah, well this is one of those simple recipes. It simply requires a cutting board, a skillet and a bowl. Everything pretty much gets cooked all in the same skillet and you can use the veggies straight from your garden…if you have one. If you are like me and can’t seem to grow a thing, then farmers market or grocery store veggies work great too.

But umm, speaking of gardens. My dad’s herb garden with two tomato plants is actually doing pretty well. The herbs don’t necessarily look the prettiest, but they are growing and they do smell great. I think the dill just completely died, but the rest of the herbs are hanging on. I used the cilantro and rosemary today for the first time, so that was kind of fun! I have to say that I love being able to just walk outside, pluck my herbs and then go cook with them. It’s very cool!

Someday, I am going to live in a place where veggies grow like the noxious weeds do around here (I could do a whole post about how intrusive the noxious weed control program is up here – I like daisies and a lot of the so called – noxious weeds!). And ok, maybe someday I really just want to live on a farm with like a gazillion acres of rolling hills of green. Oh, and of course, gotta have some horses, goats and cows too. <–life goals.

Back to the point though. This garden veggie and ravioli skillet. It’s simple, it’s delicious and it’s something I think the whole family can love. You can adapt it to use whatever veggies you love and or have on hand. I pretty much always have a decent supply of corn, zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes and peppers on hand during the summer months so I used those. Eggplant would also be really good in this too!

So you see, even though the ravioli is filled with cheese and then tossed in butter, all those veggies make this a totally healthy Wednesday meal. Or at least that’s how I like to see it. But I am young and I can rationalize things pretty well to make them just the way I want them to be.

It’s a gift I tell ya.

But umm, let me tell you about that pistachio butter. First of all, the combo of toasted, salted pistachios and butter is semi, mind-boggling amazing. I mean, just try smearing that on some toast in the morning with jam or fresh berries (oh my gosh, just thought of that now…time for a snack. Doing it.).

YUM.

When you add a few savory things like herbs + lemon + parmesan (cause the more cheese the better) it creates the best sauce for the ravioli and veggies. Seriously, the butter is the game changer here. You must, must, MUST make that butter and use it generously.

What? It’s Wednesday, the weekend is close enough, and like I have been saying lately, it is summer – anything goes. <–the mantra that never fails.

Oh and bread, really good crusty bread should be served with this. TIP: that pistachio butter is killer when spread on warm toasted bread. So maybe, if I were you, I’d just double the pistachio butter recipe.

Yup, do that for sure.

And leftovers for lunch are definitely not a bad thing…