Tortellini Bake

This post was originally posted in July but I am re-posting it for Kelly's Korner: Show Us Your Life: Dinner Recipe Edition because it is my all time favourite dinner recipe!

I was looking through my recipe box the other day and pulling out some of our old time favourites. Lately I've been so interested in trying new recipes that I have forgotten about the tried and true ones. So, tonight I made my favourite pasta dish. I started making this one when we first got married and it is delicious and very filling.

Tortellini Bake
1/2 cup chopped onion
A drizzle of EVOO
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups Alfredo sauce (or one jar)**
1 package frozen tortellini (I use cheese filled)
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas and/or asparagus (We love it best with asparagus or a combo of the two but sometimes asparagus just isn't in the budget and so peas it is)
Pepper

Topping:
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 tbsp butter
1 cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400. Over medium heat, cook onion and garlic, drizzled in EVOO for 2-3 minutes, until onion is tender.

2. Stir in Alfredo sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water and peas/asparagus.

3. Heat mixture until it comes to a gentle boil (about 10 minutes), whisking occasionally. Remove from heat.
4. In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Stir in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

5. Transfer pasta mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.

6. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

7. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are bubbly.

Serves 4-6. Serve with a green vegetable (such as roasted broccoli) or salad and some crusty bread (such as cheesy garlic french bread). If you are looking for a vegetarian recipe, simply omit the chicken and add more veggies!

** Tonight was the first time I've made this dish with homemade Alfredo sauce, usually I used a jar from the grocery store. Let me just say, it was SO worth the extra few minutes it took to make the sauce. Normally, this dish is so rich, almost too rich. But, since I make the homemade sauce with milk rather than cream, it really cuts on the richness. While I would normally think Alfredo would not be as good with milk as with cream, in this case, I think it actually improved the overall taste of the dish.