Thursday, January 30, 2014

Creamy Tortellini with Smoked Turkey Sausage (one-pot recipe!)


Does this ever happen to anyone else? You see a picture of a recipe in a book or on pinterest and you think it is going to be a certain way and then you look up what's in it and it is totally different than you thought? Well, that's what kept happening to me with tortellini recipes.  I had some tortellini to use up and wanted to try a new recipe that wouldn't be too spicy for my girls to eat.  I thought I had found a couple but then they all sounded too bland or they used gourmet ingredients, etc. So I finally just combined all the ingredients I wanted in it and crossed my fingers.  I think it turned out pretty good.

I kind of based it off of my Sausage and Peppers Penne (recipe here) but it's not as spicy since it doesn't use hot italian sausage.  I used smoked turkey sausage for this recipe because my girls love it and I was happy to see my 5 year old (who seems to be getting pickier by the day) eat it all without complaining once!  Not to mention it all cooked in the same pot (pasta and all!) I'll definitely be making this again!

Creamy Tortellini with Smoked Turkey Sausage
1 whole bell pepper (I used orange but any color will work)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 T. olive oil
1 (lb) smoked Turkey sausage ring
2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano (to taste)
a pinch of red pepper flake (optional...but worth it!)
1 (19 oz) bag frozen tortellini
4 oz. cream cheese (reduced fat works great)
1/4 cup grated paremesan
1 cup mozzarella (to top)
parsley (to top)

In a large skillet, saute bell pepper and onion in olive oil until softened.  Chop up sausage and add to veggies.  Brown sausage (it should be fully cooked already).  Add tomatoes, chicken broth and seasonings and bring to a boil.  Add frozen tortellini and reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tortellini is cooked through.  Stir in cream cheese and parmesan.  Top with mozzarella and parsley.  Enjoy!



3 comments:

  1. With that sauce it's very hard to tell the difference between turkey sausage and regular sausage. I bet we could even get it past your dad next time we try it. :)

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  2. This sounds good! I am going to have to try this one!

    My go-to tortellini recipe is this one; Nathan says it tastes like something from a restaurant:
    http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/04/tortellini-spinach-bake-in-creamy-lemon/

    My kids won't eat it, but that's the usual around here. :-P

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  3. Yum! My kids love sausage these days.

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