Foodie

I've been thinking about adding my love of all things food to the blog. We have been trying to eat healthier around here, and are dining in ALOT more than we did pre-baby so I have gone back to my cook books for some variety. So, with my love of Top Chef, Food Network, foodie blogs, recipe books and the art of cooking and baking I figure I could share some of my loved and hated recipes with the rest of you to try out on your own. Some will be healthy some not so much, but we have to indulge every once and a while.

Here is one of our favorite baked italian dishes (an indulgence).

Cheesy Baked Tortellini - serves 4-6
by Giada De Laurentiis-Everyday Pasta

2 cups marinara sauce (another day I will share our homemade marinara recipe)
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh italian parsley (or 2 tbsp dried)
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 lb purchased cheese tortellini
2 oz thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a square baking dish or casserole dish with cooking spray. Whisk the marinara, marscapone and herbs till blended. Cook tortellini until al dente. Add tortellini to sauce and toss to coat. Transfer to baking dish, top with mozzarella and parmesan. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered until sauce bubbles and cheeses on top melt, about 10 more minutes.

Notes: This is super easy and we have modified in a couple of ways. First we usually eliminate the "toss to coat" step and just lay the tortellini in the dish and pour the sauce over top, it all gets mixed together pretty easily. We have used ricotta cheese instead of mascarpone and its still good, the Teeter is kind of hit or miss on whether they have mascarpone in stock or not.

You could liven it up by adding fresh sliced mushrooms to the sauce or some cooked italian ham (prosciutto or pancetta).

Also, regular mozzarella works just as well as smoked if you can't find smoked.