This is fancy schmancy restaurant food!

Tonight was great!!! Tonight's meal was the 'didn't get made cuz we ordered pizza' dinner from Friday. I know......you're all shocked!!!! ;) Well I decided, in part to get the big bag out of the freezer, to make it tonight. And to quote Senor SkippyJon Jones "Yip Yippee Yippito!" Aaaaannnnnndddddd.......get ready for it......I threw in a recipe of my very own as a side dish!! Talk about a bold night..
Dinner this evening consisted of':
Beef Ravioli with Lemon Dressing and Thyme Buttered Carrots
I found the ravioli recipe on http://www.mealsforyou.com/ (again, please try to contain your surprise). The carrots were just a whim.
But here's the most unbelievable thing yet..............................MY CAMERA'S WORKING AGAIN!!!!!! You actually get pictures this go round........will wonders never cease?! ;)
So...without further ado, I present...the recipes. :)

Easy Beef Ravioli with Lemon Dressing
Prep: 10 min, Cook: 10 min. (but the prep can be done WHILE you're cooking so really, it only takes as long as it takes the ravioli to cook!)
1 lb. beef ravioli
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup plus 3 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. seasoned pepper
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced (I just sliced until it looked like enough...)
14 ounces canned pimientos, drained, sliced (I omitted)1/3 cup black olives, sliced
1/3 cup small fresh oregano leaves (I omitted-well, scratch that, I didn't see it on the list until later...)
Cook ravioli in a large pan of boiling water 8-10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain. Combine next 5 ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. (You can do this while the pasta is cooking) Combine ravioli and last 4 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add dressing and toss. (I mix in the pasta cooking pan. I serve everyone from the stove-less dishes!)

The Lemon dressing all mixed up

Thyme Buttered Carrots

1 1/2lb baby carrots

4 tbsp butter

Thyme

Shredded Parmesan to top

Place 3/4 inch of water in bottom of sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add carrots and cover, cooking until carrots are tender. Drain water. Replace on heat and add butter and sprinkle thyme over both ingredients. Cover. Stir well to cover all carrots with butter before serving. Sprinkle parmesan over top (if desired).



Ta daaaaa!

 This dinner is one that I am quite proud of. It seemed very hoity toity restaurant menu style but was Super easy and delicious. Dominic isn't a big fan of sour or tart flavors and thought that this was just a little too lemony/tart for a large helping or 2nds but enjoyed what he had. It was Nick's idea to add the parmesan to the carrots and he was right on the money. It complemented beautifully.
So whadya know?! Not only did I pair foods on my own, I even came up with one of them all by my lonesome (with a great suggestion from Nick to top it off)!! Put this together with my camera coming back from the land of the dead and this was pretty much a perfect dinner! :)
This is a full endorsement to try this at your house and of course, let me know how it fares.
Enjoy-
Mo