Ravioli has been defined as "small circular or square cases of dough with savory fillings."(*) Two of the more popular fillings are meat and cheese, although there are other types of fillings.

To keep from mixing the tomato sauce from the "main course" with the green beans, we heated the latter first in a hot pot, drained them, put them in a bowl and topped them with butter.

To keep them from cooling off too quickly, we put a plate over the top of the bowl.

Please note that sprinkling cheese on top of raviolis does not mean that what we have in the bowl is classified as "cheese ravioli."

This is not a low-calorie, low-sodium or low-fat meal, which is why we round it out with vegetables.

So, if you're watching your weight, you'll probably want to eat less of the entree and more vegetables (preferably raw or crisply cooked).

Some folks like to round out entrees featuring a tomato-based meat sauce (lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti, etc.) with a salad.

Some salad greens are more nutritious or more filling than others.

This is the only thing that she doesn't like about this commercially canned product. Whenever she eats anything with MSG, Vicki is sure to get a headache, so she has to watch out for it.

If a driver has a home support team, the food items can be prepared at home with fresh ingredients and preserved in numerous ways -- most notably refrigerated, frozen or canned -- until ready to eat. One must weigh the cost of the time used to prepare meals from scratch with the benefit derived.

Other types of dough-based, pasta-based and ready-to-heat dishes are also available at your local grocery store, including canned spaghetti, canned macaroni and cheese, soups, stews, frozen entrees, etc. Many of these items are less expensive than eating a similar meal in a truckstop restaurant.

We find this meal particularly enjoyable, warm and filling when it is very cold outside and we just don't feel like leaving the truck.