Seriously, can this get any cuter? The nearby Italian grocery always has the best frozen pasta, but I nearly fell over when I saw these adorable red and white heart-shaped cheese ravioli.

After a long day working overtime, I got home at 8:30 with no desire to cook. So I reached for some staples I always try to have on-hand for days like this:

• Pasta, frozen, refrigerated or dry
• Pre-cooked Italian sausage, frozen
• Jarred spaghetti sauce
• A Bag of frozen, chopped spinach (I use about a cup of this)

I thawed and sliced the sausage, added half an onion and some garlic, two diced yellow tomatoes simply because it was time for them to go, and some herbs. I sauté this for as long as I can until the pasta is done. In twenty minutes I have a delicious meal that’s good enough to keep us from going out for fast food.

QUICK TIP: Keep some pre-cooked chicken breasts and Italian sausage in FoodSaver bags in the freezer for days when you don’t have much time, or evenings when you’re tempted to go out for something just to avoid cooking. I cook mine ahead of time, let them cool, then vacuum seal them. For my family of 3 adults I usually keep the sausages in packages of 3 and the chicken breasts in packages of 2 halves (or one whole), because I’m usually just putting these in sauces.