Three Cheese Tortellini With Sausage Fennel And Tomato Cream Food

TORTELLINI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE, FENNEL, AND MUSHROOM

Steps:

• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms; sauté until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and fennel seeds; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain tortellini; return to same pot.
• Add sausage mixture to tortellini in pot. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add spinach; toss gently until spinach wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds, and serve, passing additional cheese.

THREE CHEESE TORTELLINI

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine alfredo sauce, tortellini, half of the Italian blend cheese, parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
• Pour the mix into a greased glass baking dish.
• Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
• Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

THREE-CHEESE TORTELLINI WITH CREAMY ITALIAN SAUSAGE MARINARA

Steps:

• In a large, heavy stockpot or dutch oven, brown the Italian sausage, breaking it up to the consistency you desire.
• Add the onions and cook until they are soft. Drain the grease from the pot.
• Add garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, sugar, salt, pepper, and rosemary (if desired). When adding the water, consider how long you will be simmering. The water helps to merge the flavors, but you do not want the sauce to be too thin. If you will be simmering your sauce for a shorter amount of time, add less water. Stir all these ingredients together and bring to a slow boil.
• Stir in red wine.
• Simmer on low for at least an hour. Then add the cheeses and the heavy cream. Stir well, until the cream and cheeses are well blended into the sauce. Stir occasionally while the tortellini is cooking to prevent the sauce from sticking and to prevent the cream from scorching.
• Bring water to a boil in another pot for the tortellini. Add a little olive oil to prevent the tortellini from sticking. Once the water comes to a boil, add the tortellini. Cook according to the package directions.
• I usually reserve some of the sauce for spaghetti for another day -- I add some sauteed mushrooms then. I try to ration the sauce to the amount of tortellini. If you like lots of sauce, use all the sauce. But if not, save some for another pasta dish. It freezes well. At my house, it never lasts long enough to freeze!

CHEESE TORTELLINI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cook tortellini according to package instructions; drain and set aside.
• While the pasta cooks, gather and cut up the vegetables and other ingredients.
• Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large pan over medium heat for about one minute.
• Add tomatoes, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes.
• Add spinach, parsley and basil to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes more.
• Gently stir in the tortellini and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
• Remove from heat and top with parmesan cheese.