Hey Steemies!!
Work is keeping me pretty busy, working 12 days to get 2 days off to rest, one that I waste away sleeping for most of it. Seems like I will be committed to that schedule until the rest of the year or most of it at least. That leaves me little time to do anything like take pictures or post but I decided to do some meal prep for next week so I could have something easy to grab for work lunches. It's getting pretty cold outside at night in Alberta and I love eating a nice warm filling dish for break to warm up and get energy to keep warm for the rest of shift. Of course pasta is the meal of choice to get that accomplished. This recipe makes a lot so great for a large family dinner or well...meal prep for a busy schedule. Takes a bit of time to prepare but you can cut down prep time with already cut veggies and freeze-dried herbs but fresh is much better, it all goes in the same pot and it's easy to make. For this, you will need:
-5 Italian sausages (skinned and cut)
-8 oz package of cremini mushrooms sliced
-1tbs garlic butter (plain is fine too)
-1/4 of a whole garlic (pressed)
-1/3 cup Flour
-6 tbs butter
-2 tbs of olive oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
-2 cups of chicken broth
-2 cups of 2% milk
-1 and 1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan
-1 tsp whole Dijon
-pepper to taste
-1/2 of a red onion (cut)
-1/2 a 270ml jar of sun-dried tomatoes
-1 red Fresno pepper (chopped)
-1 -600 gram package of fresh 3 cheese tortellini
-Fresh basil (chopped)
-Fresh oregano (chopped)
-2 cups of fresh spinach(cut)
-Additional Parmesan for plating
On medium high heat fry mushrooms in garlic butter until golden, set aside on a plate. Fry sausages and set aside with mushrooms.
Turn heat down to medium and fry pressed garlic until it starts to soften, add 6 tbs of butter and 1/3 cup of flour and whisk until flour is cooked (turns a golden color). Whisk in chicken broth, milk, pepper and Dijon. Allow a few minutes for mixture to thicken up and add Parmesan. Stir in uncooked pasta, sausages, mushrooms, onion and chopped sun-dried tomatoes (also add a bit of the oil for extra flavor)
Cover and allow to simmer for 8 minutes, add the chopped basil, oregano and spinach. Cover and finish cooking to desired cook on the pasta. If it looks like you are running out of liquid before it's cooked, just add a bit more milk.
Plate and top with Parmesan cheese.
Looks a bit overwhelming at first but easy peasy in the end! So worth it.
Toodaloo for now! Cheers my friends! X🐞X