Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 (9-ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini (such as DiGiorno)
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.

3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Add spinach mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well.

Comments:
Another recipe where the number of servings is questionable. It's supposed to make four, but we got maybe 3. And I measured every last ingredient and used a one-cup measuring cup for plating. Argh. This was pretty good. Much better use for prosciutto, although I did alter the recipe a little bit and threw the prosciutto into the pan with the spinach to heat through.

Tortellini (or Ravioli)-Shrimp Caesar Salad

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
2 cups frozen breaded popcorn shrimp
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
8 cups torn romaine
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing

Directions:
Prepare shrimp and tortellini according to package directions. In a large salad bowl, combine romaine and tomato; drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Drain tortellini; toss with salad. Top with shrimp.

Comments:
I swapped out the popcorn shrimp for some plain old regular shrimp that I cooked in a skillet. I thought I had tortellini, but it was actually ravioli. Same thing, right? I omitted the tomato since Adam doesn't like them and I made some Caesar dressing instead of using the store-bought stuff I had because, say it with me, "Adam doesn't like it." He liked the shrimp, wasn't crazy about the dressing. I had plain romaine with the dressing. And some tortilla chips. I know, I'm weird.

Meatball Tortellini Soup

From Taste of Home (I can't find the recipe on their website...)



Ingredients:
One 14.5oz can beef broth
12 frozen cooked Italian meatballs
3/4 cup fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup stewed tomatoes
One 11oz can Mexicorn, drained
3/4 cup frozen cheese tortellini
salt & pepper

Directions:
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add the meatballs. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the spinach, tomatoes and corn; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tortellini, salt and pepper; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until the tortellini is tender.

Comments:
Hrm, what the heck is "Mexicorn"? Is it like Rotel, but with corn instead of tomatoes?

Anyway, didn't do too well following this recipe, but my dish still looked surprisingly like the picture on the recipe card...



So, what did I actually do? I made my own meatballs, for one. How hard is it that you have to buy pre-made, frozen meatballs. Geesh. I used this recipe minus all the onion and plus some Italian seasoning. I mean, they were supposed to be "Italian meatballs" and all. I put the broth into a pot, brought it to a boil, plopped in the cooked meatballs. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Then I added a can of diced tomatoes, a can of corn (regular corn. Mexicorn? Pfft), and some baby spinach that I chopped up a bit. I let that simmer for another couple minutes. Then I added the tortellini, salt, pepper, and let that cook while I made some rolls. Almost didn't burn them this time!

Anywho, I thought this was good. Adam didn't like the tomato part.

Tortellini Casserole

From Better Homes & Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes




Ingredients:
12 ounces bulk Italian sausage
8 ounces ground beef
1 (26oz) jar pasta sauce
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatos
1/2 cup chopped red or yellow pepper
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 9-ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and ground beef until meat is brown. Drain and transfer to a 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker lightly coated with cooking spray. Stir in pasta sauce, tomatoes, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (high 3-4.) If using high setting, turn to low, stir in the tortellini, cover and cook 15-20 minutes more. Sprinkle with cheese.

Comments:
I was originally going to make this for dinner last week but Adam caught wind of it, determined it was a pot pie in disguise, and told me he wouldn't eat it. So I was left with a package of thawed stew meat. I had been meaning to make a different tortellini dish for awhile but couldn't find it in the book. (I'm a moron sometimes.) I did find this one instead. I used the stew meat in place of the ground meat, omitted the pepper and cheese, but kept everything else pretty much the same. Thumbs up.