Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

As the weather heats up in Arizona, I find myself craving citrus fruits, lighter salads, fresh fruits and veggies....and so forth

So when I saw blah blah spinach blah blah lemon sauce, I perked up.   That sounds light and delicious and perfect for summer.

But then I saw the bacon....

I knew Matt would be intrigued.

It turns out that it was less "light and summery" and more comfort food.  But I digress.   All that I care about was that it was 1- a hit.   My kids ooohed and ahhed, but only after they finished 1/2 the bowl.  2-It was a great dish to make ahead and heat up for after church.  Perfect!  My kids are usually ravenous by the time they make it home.  We leave at 11 for the 1130 service, but don't get home till 3:30.  Serious starvation is about to happen by then.

I confess that I used more bacon than required.  As I mentioned, Matt loves bacon.   Plus we had a 1/2 lb in the fridge that needed to be used up since we are leaving for 2 weeks.

I also used cream instead of just milk.   Another case of using it up...but it wasn't much.  

I also doubled the garlic.  I love garlic.  My kids do too!

The red pepper flakes were tempered by the creamy sauce, so definitely feel free to use more! We are not spicy eaters (at least the kids are not) and it was mild with 1/4 tsp.

I didn't measure the lemon zest or juice....I like lemon too!  I just used it all.

I could throw in a bit more spinach too.....up the healthy part....

If you are in a hurry because blood sugar is low...you can nuke it for faster consumption!

Anyway, here is another hit from Our Best Bites.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat.  Cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest.  Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute.  Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon.  Then cut lemon in half and remove juice.  Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce.  Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture.  Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add sauce and gently stir to combine.  Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

Serves 4-6

And all the credit goes to....

I can't believe I lost this-Double Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

This was based off of an Epicurious recipe that I doctored years ago. I can't find it, so I am posting the original inspiration so I have a starting point when I work on this again later.

As per the original recipe...

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and oats and stir until blended. Stir in all chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are light brown, about 16 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Stir chopped milk chocolate in top of double boiler until melted and smooth. Using small spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over cookies in zigzag pattern. Let stand until milk chocolate sets, about 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

I never did the chocolate drizzle OR the white chocolate chips.

I think I used applesauce + whole wheat flour to make it healthier.

I also used a package of chocolate pudding mix to help keep it moist.

I also used more cranberries, (dried if fresh are not available) and less chocolate. Just semisweet instead of the milk and white.... 1 cup cranberries? 1/2 cup chips? hmmmm.


It was a bit dry and not oatmeal-y enough....so next time, use these adjustments (based on a standby oatmeal)...

1/2 cup butter + 1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar? maybe 3/4 cups? brown and white, each
2 eggs?
1 tsp vanilla or 2?

double cinnamon?

increase oatmeal to 3 cups
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
pudding mix, small
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of chips/cranberries total.

OH YEAH! SOAK the cranberries in hot water before using them if dry.

bake 350 for 16 min or 375 for 10


butter gives it more of a crisp, margarine makes it softer. The pudding keeps it moist, so ...

pudding + margarine=cake-like
pudding + butter = soft inside, slight crisp outside.

pudding + applesauce for 1/2 the butter = cakelike with very little crisp outside.

Brown Butter Butterscotch Banana Bread …with Greek Yogurt

Testing a new Banana Bread.....

Ingredients:

2 medium bananas (or 1 cup mashed banana)
½ cup butter softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ tsp salt
½ cup greek yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

½ cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Roast bananas with peel for 15-20 minutes. If you want to skip this step, simply mash the bananas (you’ll need 1 cup of mashed banana). Grease an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Carefully move the saucepan around to melt and move the butte,r but do not stir. Allow to foam until it subsides, then remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, salt and sugar. Stir, adding browned butter, Greek yogurt and vanilla. Stir until combined but don’t overmix. Add peeled roasted bananas and mix for 1-2 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, cinnamon and baking soda, mixing until combined. Slowly add flour to the wet mix while stirring. Mix until the bananas are unseparated and throughly blended throughout the mix.
5. Add butterscotch chips and slowly fold them into the batter until evenly distributed. Make sure to taste test a few for quality. Safety first.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely before removing from loaf pan and onto a cooling rack.

The combination of Greek yogurt and Cake flour give this bread a fine, soft, almost creamy crumb that is only made smoother by the butterscotch chips.