We had 2 open bottles of pasta sauces in the fridge...

...So I made Tortellini! Of course I had to add some meat for my boy. I find that I'm liking bulk sausage more and more these days compared to the good old ground beef. I guess I just like variety. We also have a lot of left-overs and you know how much I LOVE that!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 c sliced fresh mushrooms
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 lb bulk pork sausage, casings removed
3 c marinara sauce (I used a combo of Vodka and 3 Cheese)
1 can diced tomatoes (I used Italian style)
¾ c heavy cream
16 oz uncooked cheese tortellini
½ c grated Parmesan cheese

Prep:

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms cook until tender. Add the sausage and cook until it's well browned, breaking them apart and stirring often.

2. Stir the sauce into the skillet and heat to a boil. Add cream and tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

3. Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain the tortellini well in a colander. Add tortellini to the skillet and mix to combine.

Dinner from the Fridge

We all know I love getting creative by using up ingredients we already have on hand to make dinner. It's just so relaxing knowing that I don't have to make an extra trip to the grocery store on a busy weeknight and still make a SUPER yummy meal! I had a package of Buitoni Herbed Chicken Tortellini in the fridge and decided to make dinner with it. I ALWAYS pick up one of these when they go on sale cuz they last practically forever and take no time to cook up! This is also a one-pot type of meal, which means that I have less cleanup to do! I'm embarassed to even call this a recipe below but more like just throwing a bunch of ingredients together with a REALLY yummy result!


Ingredients: (3-4 servings)

1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated Tortellini (whatever flavor works!)
1 Tbsp butter
1 c sliced fresh mushrooms
6 slices of ham, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c half and half (while milk or heavy cream work just as well)
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp dry Italian seasoning
1/2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese

Prep:

1. Cook Tortellini according to package directions in a large pot. Drain and set aside.

2. Melt butter in the same pot and add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ham, half and half and bring to a boil.

3. Turn off heat and stir in cream cheese until melted. Add Italian seasoning and Tortellini.

4. Stir in Mozzarella cheese just before serving.

Super Veggie Tortellini

It's my mom's last night at my place so I wanted to make her something special. She's never had Tortellini (Italian Wonton she calls it!) so that's what I made. There's really not much of a recipe but I cooked the Tortellini along with a bag of frozen veggie mix. Then I tossed everything generously with Thousand Island Dressing (her fav!) and LOTS of Parmesan cheese!

Buitoni Tortellini (AKA Italian Wontons!)

They play the Buitoni commercial on TV just about every 10 minutes so I got brain-washed into REALLY wanting to try them! (They were also on sale at Safeway!) I couldn't find them at first but then I saw them right next to the Pesto and Hummus. There's a few different shapes like Ravioli and Angel Hair but I settled on the Tortellini's cuz they were just SO cute! They also had their own fresh Marinara Sauce but I figured the jarred kind I had at home was probably just as good. So I picked the Three Cheese flavor and decided to make my own meaty sauce. There's really no recipe to go with this since all I did was brown some ground beef, add mushrooms and stir in the marinara sauce. I cooked the Tortellini's according to the package and mixed it ALL together with some Parmesan CHEESE! 15 minutes later, dinner was served! YUM! :)

Dilly Salmon Tortellini = YUM!

Salmon has proven to be the perfect mate for dill as shown in my Benedict and Patties. So when I found this recipe for Tortellini with Salmon-Riotta Sauce, I knew I had to give it a try. The only changes I made were substituting half of a diced up white onion instead of the green just cuz that was what I had in the fridge and adding some mushrooms cuz Greg loves them in pasta dishes (and pizza!). (Oh, and I also didn't have any lemons so I just added some juice from a bottle and omitted the peel.) At first I was afraid the canned salmon would taste too fishy with the tortellini but the flavors actually worked really well together. I guess you just can't go wrong with Ricotta and Mozzarella paired up with cheese-stuffed pasta! This was definitely an easy weeknight dinner and we're always told to eat more fish right? :)

Can't Go Wrong with Tortellini!

There's a reason why I always keep some dry tortellini around. When I'm busy baking a big batch of cookies, I know I can whip up a yummy dinner in no time! Tonight I topped my pasta with a jar of spaghetti sauce jazzed up with sausage and mushrooms. Then I stirred in some Parmesan at the end and dinner could not have been easier and quicker. YUM!

Left-overs Transformed!

I had some chicken left over from my Coq Au Vin and thought it would be REALLY yummy in a pasta dish. The Mozzarella cheese and Cream of Chicken soup worked perfectly together with the chicken and bacon! Look at the ooey gooey goodness!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 c milk
1 c shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 pkg (13 oz) Tortellini, cooked according to directions, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR turkey
¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix soup, milk and Mozzarella cheese in a baking dish. Stir in pasta and chicken.

3. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake 30 min until bubbly.

Buitoni to the Rescue AGAIN!

I make Tortellini, Tortelloni and Ravioli quite often cuz they're so quick and easy. I also like the fact that I can jazz them up with whatever I have on hand! I had some chicken strips in the fridge so I picked up a package of Buitoni Chicken and Prosciutto Tortelloni (to keep with the whole chicken theme and all). I also had some mushrooms and half a jar of Alfredo Sauce left over from my Stuffed Shells so dinner was created. Don't you just love it when all your left-over ingredients come together to make the perfect meal? :)

Borsetti = Little Pasta Purses

I found a new (and cute!) pasta at Safeway today! They're called Borsetti and they're basically little stuffed pasta purses, kinda like Tortellini, but cuter! It's the first time I've ever seen these and they're stuffed with Roasted Chicken and Prosciutto (Safeway brand). I was pretty sure you wouldn't really taste much of the meat since they're so tiny so I decided to add some bacon to the sauce. This was YUMMY!
Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 pkg (9 oz) of Borsetti pasta
5 slices of thick cut bacon
2 c Marinara sauce
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 c Mozzarella cheese
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Prep:

1. Cook bacon in a skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes on each side, until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

2. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain of most of the liquid.

3. Add Marinara sauce and pepper and turn heat down to low. Crumble bacon into the pot and mix well. Stir in Mozzarella cheese until melted.

4. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

15 Minute Dinner!

I LOVE the holidays but it also means lots of after-work get-togethers and errands. Since we're already eating a lot of goodies these days, I hate adding more takeout and fast food dinners to the mix. The solution? I keep lots of staples around for quick and easy dinners. Tonight we had a yummy Crabmeat and Tortelli Alfredo meal that came together in 15 minutes. It's just canned (but Premium!) Cabmeat and dry Tortellini in our favorite Ragu sauce with some Mozzarella Cheese stirred in at the end. It couldn't be more simple but SO satisfying on a busy weeknight!

Glad I Have Frozen Pesto Cubes!

I was bored one night while Greg was traveling and decided to make some Pesto to freeze in an ice cube tray. It was a method I learned a while ago and always wanted to try. Well, I'm glad I did cuz now I have Pesto on hand to spread on sandwiches or use as pasta sauce like I did tonight! I took out 8 cubes (which is about a cup of Pesto since every cute is about 2 tablespoons) and let them thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes. Pasta sauce DONE! I cooked up a package of Trader Joe's Pesto Tortellini, drained them. Then in the same pot, I browned up some mushrooms in butter, stirred in 2 cups of cooked chicken (I used Tyson's Grilled Chicken Strips) and the Pesto until everything was heated through. (I had to thin it out with some milk cuz it was really thick.) Then added fresh basil and LOTS of Parmesan cheese. Dinner was served in less than 15 minutes!

Simple Meal from the Fridge

I love stocking up on simple ingredients over the weekend, so I can whip up a meal in no time on a busy weeknight. This yummy pasta dinner came completely from my fridge. It's Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini with a sauce made from a jar of Classico Sauce which I added ground beef and mushrooms to. Topped with some fresh basil and you've got restaurant-quality food in less than 30 minutes!

Quickest and Easiest Dinner EVER!

Cookie Fridays are back so that means Thursday nights are my baking nights and dinner needs to be quick and easy. My go-to is Trader Joe's fresh stuffed pastas and cooked sausages. Tonight, it's Cheese Tortellini with Italian Chicken Sausage topped with Alfredo Sauce. Yummy and only took 15 minutes to make!

Quick and Easy and Oven-Free

"Oven-free" is the most important aspect of tonight's dinner since Thursday nights are my baking nights. This yummy bowl of Tortellini was the perfect quick and easy meal! I added sausage and mushrooms to jarred speghetti sauce and stirred in Mozzarella at the end. So simple yet SO delicious!