Tortellini Primavera

Tortellini Primavera
from EatingWell: March/April 2010
5 Servings (1 1/4C) | Active time: 25 minutes | Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 14oz can vegetable broth or reduced sodium chicken broth
2 T all-purpose flour
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 C shredded fontina cheese or 3/4 C shredded parm
1 T chopped fresh tarragon, dill, or chives, or 1 t dried tarragon
1/8 t salt
4C chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, and snap peas, or 16 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 16 oz package frozen cheese tortellini

Preparation
Put a large pot of water to boil.
Meanwhile, whisk brother and four in a small bowl.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1-2 minutes.  Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occassionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in cheese, tarragon (or dill and chives) and salt.
Add vegetables and tortellini to the boiling water; return the water to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and tortellini are tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain; add to the pay with the sauce and stir to coat.

Notes from me!
I didn't have fresh or dried tarragon.... shame on me. So I used 1 t dried chives and 1/2 t dried dill. This was quite tasty and we all enjoyed it.

Hi

Howdy,
This should be a fun experience! I hope everyone enjoys the recipes and foods that I make here. Please feel free to send me your recipes to try as well. I am particularly interested in discovering new recipes that I can freeze. Most of the recipes that I have found so far aren't the healthiest and they rely on a lot of cream of... soups. Don't get me wrong. I like those soups but you can only eat so many combinations before you get tired of them.

Tonight I made 3 new recipes that I found on eatingwell.com. I made Chile & Beer Braised Brisket, Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup, and Tortellini Primavera. I am particularly fond of eatingwell because the include health information with all the recipes as well as tips and notes.

Chile & Beer Braised Brisket
From EatingWell: March/April 2008
8 servings (3/4 c each) | Active time 30 minutes | Total time 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients
6 dried New Mexico, Anaheim or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T plus 1 t chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 C Mexican beer
1 T canola oil
2 lbs trimmed flat, first cut brisket
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed

Prep
Tear the chiles into 1-in pieces and place in a large bowl.  Cover with hot water and let sit until softened, at least 20 minutes. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 350. Please the tomatoes and their juices, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and the drained chile pieces in a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the beer.
 Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add brisket and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total.  Pour the chile sauce over the meat and bring to a simmer.
Cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 2 hours.  Stir in the beans and continue baking until the meat is fall apart tender, 45 min - 1 hr.
Transfer meat to a cutting board and pull apart into long shreds using two fords.  Stir the shredded meat back into the sauce.

Nutrition per serving:
282 Calories, 9 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 4 g mono; 78 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbs; 30 g protein; 6 g fiber; 528 mg sodium; 664 mg potassium.

This can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.


Notes from me!
I will probably serve this over rice, I am a fan of brown rice personally. I did not have a Mexican beer in my fridge so I used Shiner. I also had a 3lb brisket so I put the whole bottle of beer in for some extra liquid. Before I put the meat back in the sauce I put it on the stove and brought it to a boil and reduced it. Then I added 1T corn starch and water to thicken the sauce. Then I added the meat.