Cheesy Baked Tortellini (for two)

 

A week or so ago my sister said that she was making Cheesy Baked Tortellini for supper. I asked her about it.  She said it was something everyone there really enjoyed, and she had not made it in a while.

It sounded delicious. I am a real pasta lover.  I asked her to share the recipe with me. I knew that it would be very easy for me to break it down into a recipe for two. 

For those of you who are not familiar with it, Tortellini is a small, filled pasta dumpling. 

 

I had not thought of using Tortellini in this way before and I don't know why not. It's really very simple.  You just cook your tortellini and then fold it into a creamy cheese sauce and bake.

I have had tortellini many times with a sauce spooned over top, but never this way. It sounded easy and delicious.

Today I just cooked it simply, plain, without any additions. I have since discovered this version on Spend with Pennies, that adds ham and peas to it, which sounds even more delicious!

I also found another version that added cooked chicken, but to me the ham and peas one sounds way better and something I might try next time.

In the meantime, I am enjoying this simple version so much that I can't keep my fork out of the dish! Yes, it is that addictively delicious!  All I can say is I am glad I made a small version of it so that I can keep myself from really over-doing it! Whew!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEESY BAKED TORTELLINI (FOR TWO)

It does use a convenience food in that it uses refrigerated prepared tortellini, but what the hey! Its not a long list of ingredients at all.

• 6 ounces (175g) about 1 heaped cup of ready to cook tortellini (I used cheese and bacon)
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 TBS all purpose plain flour
• 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup (43g) grated Mozarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

To top:

• 1/2 TBS butter melted
• 1/4 cup (30g) cracker crumbs

 

You can find already prepared tortellini in the chiller section of the deli at the grocery store. I believe you can also buy frozen bags of it in some places. It is a very simple thing to cook and comes in a variety of flavors.

The store I went to carries many varieties, spinach and cheese, three cheese and herb, etc.  I chose to use the cheese and bacon variety.

 

Look at the lovely steam rising from my hot casserole. At this point, I could hardly wait to dig in, it smelled so good!

I use full fat milk. I don't drink milk per se. I only really use it in cooking or a bit on my cereal, and so I just buy full fat.  I like it best.

Do make sure you don't use garlic salt.  Just the powder and it does seem like a lot, but trust me, it totally works at this amount!

 

HOW TO MAKE CHEESY BAKED TORTELLINI (FOR TWO)

This is very simple to make. Cook the pasta, make a cheese sauce, combine the two and bake.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small pie plate or casserole dish large enough to hold about 1 1/2 cups.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the tortellini according to the package directions.

 

While the tortellini cooks make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute and then slowly whisk in the milk.

Cook, whisking constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a bubble and is smooth and thick. Whisk in both cheeses.

Drain the pasta well and fold it into the cheese sauce, combine well. Pour this into the prepared baking dish.

Mix together the melted butter and crumbs for the topping. Sprinkle this on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling, and the crumbs are golden brown.

 

Normally I make all of my sauces (such as this one) in the microwave oven, and I did so today as well.  Just melt the butter (in a microwave safe beaker) in the microwave on high, about 20 seconds.  Whisk in the flour and spices until smooth, then slowly whisk in the milk to combine.

Cook on high in the microwave for about a minute and a half, stopping every thirty seconds to whisk smooth.  Remember heated milk doubles in volume so you will want to make sure your container you are cooking the sauce in is large enough.

It should be thickened nicely after a minute and a half. If not cook for 30 seconds longer. (A lot depends on the strength of your microwave.)  At the end of that time whisk in both cheeses and your sauce is ready to go!

 

I couldn't believe how delicious this was. I was afraid it might be bland because Mozzarella cheese is quite bland, but it was filled with flavor. Mind you, some of that was because of the filling in the tortellini, which really shone quite nicely!

I highly recommend this recipe if you are wanting a quick and easy mid-week supper that is delicious. Very tasty and on the table in about half an hour. All you need on the side is a salad! 

Some other pasta dishes on here that you might enjoy are:

PASTA E PISELLI 

Simple ingredients put together in a simple way.  Pasta, peas, water and cheese. It doesn't get any simpler or easier than this. You wouldn't think that simple things like this could come together in such a delicious way, but like magic, they do!  I love this.

MARTHA STEWARTS ONE PAN PASTA

One thing I love about this tasty pasta dish is that everything cooks in one pan, even the pasta (linguini). You just add the dry pasta and other ingredients, including water, and it cooks all-together in the pan. No fuss, no muss, no faffing about with having to drain this or that. The water, tomatoes, etc. condense along with the starch from the cooking pasta to create a delicious sauce.

 

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This quick and easy cheesy bake is so delicious, I couldn't leave it alone! It's fabulous!

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (175g) about 1 cup of ready to cook tortellini (I used cheese and bacon)
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 TBS all-purpose plain flour
• 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup (43g) grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

To top:

• 1/2 TBS butter melted
• 1/4 cup (30g) cracker crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a small pie plate or casserole dish large enough to hold about 1 1/2 cups.
2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the tortellini according to the package directions.
3. While the tortellini cooks make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute and then slowly whisk in the milk.
4. Cook, whisking constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a bubble and is smooth and thick. Whisk in both cheeses.
5. Drain the pasta well and fold it into the cheese sauce, combine well. Pour this into the prepared baking dish.
6. Mix together the melted butter and crumbs for the topping. Sprinkle this on top.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the crumbs are golden brown.

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