Cheesy Sausage Tortellini

Oh, MAN, you guys.

This was delicious.  Like, really, really amazing.  Best new recipe I've tried all year.

I stumbled across something similar on Pinterest recently, but couldn't find it when I went looking for it again.  At this point in my cooking life, I don't really use recipes anyway, so no big deal.  I decided to go with my memory of it and see what happened.  And what happened was YUM.

I didn't measure any of this (except for the tomato sauce, and only because it's printed on the can!), so all measurements are approximate.  Adjust as necessary.

You will need:
Olive oil
Fresh tortellini (in your supermarket's refrigerated aisle)
Garlic
Heavy cream
Chicken broth
Tomato sauce
Sausage 
Mozzarella or parmesan (not pictured because I'm an airhead)

A note about the sausage: I used hot italian (so yummy!), but this is really up to you.  You can get mild sausage, or turkey sausage, or smoked sausage, or cheese-filled brats, or even something pre-cooked, like kielbasa. Or, you can use chicken.  Or tofu.  Or ground beef.  Add any vegetables you like (I think this would have been really yummy with onion and bell pepper, but I completely skipped half the produce on my grocery list this week {airhead! airhead!}, so only a couple of my meals got their green stuff).


So, slice your sausage into bite-size pieces.  Pour a little olive oil (one or two tablespoons-ish) in a skillet (with a lid!), and cook over medium-high heat until brown and delicious.

When the sausage is completely cooked, add some garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  (Now is also a good time to add any vegetables you might be using--cook them for a couple minutes now, but know that they'll have plenty of time to get soft and luscious in the sauce.)

Add in about a cup of chicken broth...

And one cup of tomato sauce....

And about a cup of heavy cream.

Stir it around to mix, then add the tortellini, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer at least 15 minutes, until the tortellini is plump and cooked through, and the sauce is thick and delicious.  Stir in some cheese (to taste, but I used probably a quarter-cup), let simmer an additional two or three minutes, and serve!

My sauce didn't want to get thick, so I let it simmer for probably 20 or 25 minutes.  Stirring in the mozzarella really helped it on its way.  The only seasonings I used were salt and pepper; the sausage gave the sauce all the flavor it needed.  If you're using a milder sausage, it may need some seasonings--basil and oregano would be heavenly, I'll bet.  Or maybe some parsley and rosemary.  Mmmmm.  Anyway, this is delightful.  Serve it with a heaping green salad and some crusty bread to soak up the amazing sauce, and enjoy!

The boring stuff:
Takes about 45 minutes to prepare.
Feeds four.
Difficulty: 2.