Accounting for Taste

What a great weeknight meal! This no-chop, one-pot wonder comes together in 45 minutes with just a handful of pantry staples. Refrigerated or frozen tortellini plump in a meat sauce that’s brawny with hot or sweet Italian sausage and garlic. Top with a blanket of melted mozzarella, for more of a baked pasta result, and finish the dish with a grating of Parmesan.

Our frozen package of tortellini from Costco weighed in at one-and-a-half pounds instead of the 1 pound listed under ingredients, and we used it all. Sweet Italian sausage was our preference, although we added a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and one teaspoon of dried oregano to punch up the flavor.

And the amount of shredded mozzarella was a tad over 4 ounces, but who doesn’t love more gooey cheese?!

One-Pot Tortellini With Meat Sauce

Servings: 4
Time: 45 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 lb. hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 (28-oz.) can whole or crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
About 1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (no need to thaw)
Finely grated Parmesan, for serving
½ cup/4 oz. grated mozzarella

Directions

Finely grate the garlic into a large Dutch oven or skillet. Add the olive oil and tomato paste and set over medium-high heat. When it sizzles, stir until the oil is a rusty red, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sausage, breaking it into small pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is starting to crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes. (If using whole tomatoes, break them up with your spoon.) Season with dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes (optional), and salt and pepper. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer over medium until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the tortellini, cover and cook until tender, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through and scraping any that might be stuck to the bottom of the pot. If the sauce looks dry, add ¼ cup water (which was needed due to the fact we were cooking 50% more pasta).
For the melted-cheese top like a baked pasta, heat the broiler with a rack in the upper third of the oven. Sprinkle the tortellini with the mozzarella. Broil until melted and browned in spots, 2 to 4 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with Parmesan.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from Lidia Bastianich

Looking for a new twist on a meatless pasta with veggies dish? How about this Tortellini-Vegetable Bake? While it does have quite a bit of dairy, there is also a wide variety of vegetables. Add a side salad, and your meal is complete!

We have to disagree with the Better Homes & Gardens qualification stating it feeds eight. Unless you eat very little, and/or you are serving other sides and bread, six portions is probably more realistic.

And it wasn’t until we were done eating and I referred back to the original recipe that I noticed I had only incorporated 4 ounces of cream cheese, instead of eight (yes, a senior moment). But you know what, we didn’t miss it, so we saved ourselves some calories.

BH&G noted prep time was 30 minutes, I’m saying at least 45 in reality. And in Step 4, they originally said to mix everything in the skillet before spooning it into the baking dish. No way José. Better idea to mix the mushrooms, bell peppers and tomatoes into the cream sauce in the skillet, place the tortellini mixture into the casserole dish, then spoon the cream sauce over that and mix well. Save yourself the agony of cleaning up the spillage if you were to try and blend it altogether in the skillet first.

Oh, and we doubled (so much for saving calories) the amount of grated Parmesan to four tablespoons, divided between topping it before it goes in the oven, and two tablespoons when it comes out piping hot.

Tortellini-Vegetable Bake

Servings: 8
Time: 1 hr, 15 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

2 9-oz. packages refrigerated cheese tortellini
8 oz. fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 medium carrot, sliced 1⁄8″ thick
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
⅓ cup vegetable broth
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano, crushed
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup milk
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
½ cup coarsely chopped red or green sweet pepper (1 small)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook tortellini according to package directions, adding sugar snap peas and carrot for the last 1 minute of cooking; drain.
Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms; cook about 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet.
In a screw-top jar combine broth, flour, oregano, garlic salt, and black pepper. Cover and shake until smooth. Add to the same skillet; add milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese; cook and stir until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.
Stir mushrooms, tomatoes, and sweet pepper into cream cheese mixture in skillet, the pour into an ungreased 3-quart baking dish. Spoon tortellini mixture over the other veggies in the casserole dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the grated Parm on top, cover with foil.
Bake, covered, about 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.