Packaged Fresh Ravioli
I've been buying packaged ravioli recently, which are really good summer foods as they don't involve heating up the kitchen. The usual ones are cheese and meat, but you can often find other kinds, such as ones stuffed with artichoke, blue cheese, chicken sausage, etc. Very convenient as they cook up quickly just by pouring boiling water over them (this takes about 4 minutes). You can also fry them up in a pan like fried wontons. Go the extra mile to build a sauce for them and they're really nice. Here's one I just made today, which I liked quite a bit:
1 package of artichoke ravioli, unheated
1/2 cup diced onion
6 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp basil pesto (I just buy this, but homemade is better)
heavy grind of black pepper
6 Spanish olives
1 tsp olive oil
In a frying pan, combine all ingredients but the ravioli and pesto. Use a little heat on the vegetables to get some browning. Reduce heat. Cook on low until the ravioli are hot and browned, sort of like what fried wontons look like.
I've made other sauces for these, including some wine reductions, usually with some vegetables thrown in. Saute something in a pan that will add some flavor such as mushrooms and shallots, deglaze with wine and/or stock, and toss the ravioli in to cook.
I suspect making ravioli from scratch isn't that hard but it's not something I'm likely to do except for special occasions, not when I can get good stuff at the store.

