meatball and pea ravioli

Okay, that title sounds gross. But I share only the good stuff, so, I promise, this was fabulous! Here's how it goes:

1 lb beef
1/4 cup-1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
an egg
2 tablespoons of fresh parm

Get your hands dirty mixing it up! Then form little meatballs, maybe 2-3 ounces each? and plop them in a warmed (I use the medium setting on my stovetop for everything then adjust. But my stove/oven is a bit psycho. You know your appliances better than I do) sautee pan. Be sure not to "pack" the meatballs. Form the balls loosely or they will come out tough. Flip them after about 3 or 4 minutes. Cook til their about med-well, and the juices are eeking out. It will finish cooking at the end when we add everything together. [While the beef is cooking, chop up your onion & garlic, see below.] Drain off the fat (I like to use 85/15 ground beef. It's cheaper! But it means I really have to drain it.) and if there are any crusties on the bottom of the pan, save them. It makes the onions tastier.

Start the water for the ravioli according to the packaged directions. Usually this means heating a bigger pot of water and adding the ravioli once it starts to boil. Before you drain them, reserve 1/2 cup of the water. (It has starches that help bring all the flavors together, pasta water is a wonder!) Once they're drained, you can set them aside.

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic mashed to remove the skin, then chopped coarsely (I may be crazy, but it seems that when you crush the garlic it releases some of those tasty oils. I love the flavor and texture of fresh, sauteed garlic, so I like mine "coarse.")

Use the same pan as you did with the meatballs, heated again to medium warm. Toss the above together. Once it gets sizzlin', sautee together for about 3 minutes.

Add 10 ounces of frozen peas. (I bought my peas in a 16 ounce package, so I used my 2 cup liquid measuring cup to get just about 10 ounces. 16 ounces of peas may have been too much!) Then add the pasta water, and meatballs. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  You can test a meatball to make sure it cooked to your liking. Then toss it in the ravioli and VIOLA!