This is my first Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) recipe and it definitely won’t be my last! This was a great way to eat all the carbs while also adding in some veggies which are really good for you, but much less satisfying than creamy, cheesy pasta.
Pick up 18 ounces of tortellini from the store. Now, if you are like me, you may freak out that this does not look like enough pasta for one person, let alone 4! But I will reassure you, it is so do not panic. Now cook the tortellini according to the directions on the package or until they look like they are done. Tortellini float to the top of when they are almost cooked so watch for that! When it looks like they may be done, add in the sugar snap peas and the carrots and cook for approximately 1 minute and then drain. While the pasta is doing its thing, make the delicious sauce! To do so, you’ll need to melt some butter over medium high heat and them add the mushrooms and sauté until they are tender (5 minutes). I did not add these because I don’t particularly like mushrooms. So you do you. Add them or not, up to you! Once the butter is melted or the mushrooms are cooked, remove it from the heat for a bit. During this time, combine vegetable broth, flour, oregano, garlic salt, and black pepper in a screw top container or jar and shake it until smooth. I recommend partaking in a 30 second dance party to Taylor Swift’s Shake it off. Makes the meal taste better in the end, I promise 🙂 Add this liquid concoction along with some milk to the skillet with the mushrooms (or just butter) and put it back on the medium high heat. Cook this until it becomes slightly bubbly. Then add the cubed cream cheese (I will argue that this is the most important ingredients so do not forget it!). Cook and stir this until its smooth. Once smooth, remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Take the tortellini, snap peas, and carrots and combine that with the mushroom (or lack of mushroom) sauce and the quartered cherry tomatoes and red pepper (or green if you’d like) and place into a 3 quart baking dish. Make sure to mix it all up with the sauce evenly distributed throughout. Bake this covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with parmesan cheese and then EAT THIS RIGHT AWAY. So, so good. Very creamy,and cheesy, and vegetable-y. I usually don’t like peas and carrots unless they are in Forrest Gump, but in this dish, they really weren’t bad. They were actually good! I will definitely be making this again, mainly because of the sauce, but also I guess because of the veggies…
Recipe:
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/tortellini-vegetable-bake/?socsrc=bhgpin020813MPtortellinivegetablebake
Ingredients:
Goodbye Monotony, Hello Deliciousness 