Cheesy Tortellini Bake

So, it has been slow on here- I think with the heat there hasn't been many people cooking. I made a yummy dish tonight that I would like to share. I got the recipe from the person who cooked the meals at girls camp when I went as a leader this year. It is way easy and very creamy and yummy. I forgot to take a picture until it was too late, but it looks just like a lasagna dish when it comes out of the oven. It tastes similar to lasagna, but creamy and so much faster and easier to make!!!

Ingredients:

1 20 oz pkg Tortellini
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground ital. saus.
4 oz. cream cheese (I use light)
1 reg. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese (shaker can)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350.

1) Brown beef/sausage and drain. Put back in pan and add sauce- simmer on low.

2) While browning meat, boil tortellini according to pkg directions. Drain.

3) Put tortellini back in pan. Dice cream cheese and put in pan with tortellini and stir until cheese is mostly melted and spread evenly among tortellini (if you really want it thick and creamy, throw in the whole bar- but it will be thick!)

4) Layer in square baking dish lasagna style- sauce, tortellini, sauce, mozz cheese, parm cheese, tortellini, sauce, mozz cheese, parm cheese.

5) Bake uncovered for approx. 20 min. or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!!

Creamy One-Pot Pasta

This is actually a recipe from one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks. It was very easy and really good and also lower in fat. Makes for a simple but yummy weeknight dinner. I forgot to buy the can of sun-dried tomatoes, so I used regular petite diced tomatoes and drained the can. I sauteed the garlic in a tsp of olive oil. I also didn't have fresh basil, so I sprinkled on some dry basil and it was good! I made it a meal by adding 3 sliced chicken breasts that I had grilled and seasoned. You can leave chicken out and have a meatless meal or a hearty side.

4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
1 jar (7oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained
3 cans (14 1/2 oz each) chicken broth (5 1/4 cups)
1 lb uncooked penne pasta
1 head broccoli (or 2 cups small florets)
2 medium carrots, peeled
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
grated fresh parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil (optional)

Place garlic and 1 TBSP oil from sun dried tomatoes into an 8qt stockpot. Cook garlic over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add broth. Return to burner, increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; cover and simmer vigorously 8-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm. Stir occasionally. DO NOT DRAIN!

Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets and place into a bowl. Slice carrots and add to bowl. Drain sun-dried tomatoes; pat dry with a paper towel. Slice tomatoes into thin strips. Add to bowl with carrots and broccoli.

Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add vegis, cream cheese, salt and black pepper to stockpot. Stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until vegis are tender. If desired, top with grated parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil.

6 servings: each serving contains 410 calories, 11 grams total fat, 5 grams fiber.

Pizza Casserole...

My mother has been making this dinner for as long as I can remember. With 5 picky kids it worked out great. There is no real recipe for it, just put as much as you want. Now that I cook it for Cameron and I, I add a few more ingredients--anything you would put on a pizza is tasty in this!

• Penne noodles
• Italian sausage
• Pepperoni
• Prego
• Mozzarella

Boil the noodles and cook the sausage. When both are done, combine noodles, sausage, pepperoni, and prego- mix well. Put in a baking dish. Put shredded mozzarella on top. Cook at 350 for about 45 minutes (or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through)

I usually saute onion with the sausage. I also add olives and sometimes some peppers. Its super easy and is great with garlic bread.

RUNZA CASSEROLE

when I lived in Nebraska there was a food chain called "Runza"...their specialty was a sandwich of homeade dough stuffed with ground beef and spices. This is an easy casserole that plays off the sandwich chain!!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 head of cabbage shredded or 1 bag of preshredded cabbage
2 cans of pilsbury crescent rolles
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef. Do not drain. Add cabbage and salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until cabbage is soft and thinner pieces are translucent. Drain meat/cabbage mixture. In greased 9x13 pan, line bottom with crescent roll dough. Fill with meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with 2nd can of crescent dough. Bake until top crust is brown and flakey. (Approx. 40 min.)