'Friendsgiving' celebrates friendship

With it being the holiday season, holiday cheer comes along with it. This is the time families give thanks to one another for their constant unconditional love and support. But what about your second family? The people that are your home away from home.

Shouldn't your friends get recognition for dealing with you while you're at school? I'd like to think so. I definitely need to give loads of thanks to my friends for putting up with me all year; and my friends agree.

We've made it a habit to put on a "Friendsgiving" every year. Our close-nit group of friends brings a potluck dinner for everyone to devour. Some foods a

re the traditional foods you'd find during the holidays, others were just enjoyable foods for an everyday meal.

Each person is in charge of something different; making a dish to bring, setting up the seating, decorating the home. And the list was subject to change, up until the very last few hours.

I personally come from a strict Italian family. Meaning, traditional Thanksgiving foods aren't served at our dinners. So while you wouldn't think of a pasta dish being a common holiday dish, it is for my family. I decided to bring a little bit of home to my second home by making baked ravioli for everyone.

The greatest part about my dish - easy as cake. Yet everyone thought it took an abundance of time and effort. Little secret: it didn't. Even though it wasn't what you would expect to have at your dinner, I was delighted to see that my dish was such a hit. You can find a delicious recipe for baked ravioli here, but I personally like to add my own touch to it.

My own little twist to the recipe:

First things first, I can never choose between the Prego pasta sauch to use. I'm a huge fan of the of Three Cheese and the Parmesan and Italian Herbs. So I decided to use both.

At the bottom of my pan I chose to spead the Parmesan and Italian Herbs sauce. For my recipe I used both the cheese and meat for more of a variety.

On top of the first layer of sauce I used the cheese ravioli; but instead of scattering the ravioli around, I let my OCD take over and meticulously placed each ravioli one next to another. Of course, add another little tiny layer of sauce on top of that (either flavor).

Next comes the meat ravioli. The reasoning behind me doing the cheese on bottom in meat on top is a little ridiculous, but it made sense in my head; I figured since the dish would also be topped with cheese, there should be some meat substance inbetween the two cheese areas. You can obvioulsy place each ravioli however you'd like - scattered, in rows, meats on place, cheeses another.

I topped the second row of ravioli with the Three Cheese sauce, then topped that with my mozzarella. Bake the same as stated in the recipe: for 20 minutes (or until cheese on top is golden yellow) at 425 degrees.

My ravioli was only one of the many delicious dishes the rest of the attendees prepared. There are no rules when it comes to a potluck dinner. As long as each person puts the same time and effort into what they're preparing, your night will be a success. Channel your inner heritage; bring something you're passionate about making. Friendsgiving isn't just for the food though; it's for appreciating your friends for being your family while your other family is miles away.

#Food #lifestyle