Creamy Tortellini and Garden Vegetable Bake
Spring vegetables and cheese tortellini in a cream cheese bechamel sauce
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
- 20 ounces refrigerated tortellini
- 1 cup carrot thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups sugar snap peas halved crosswise
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano crushed
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese cubed
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cup cooked chicken see notes
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Cook tortellini in boiling water according to package directions. Add the carrots during the last 5 minutes of cooking, the zucchini during the last 3 minutes, and the sugar snap peas during the last 1 minute of cooking. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, shake together chicken broth, oregano, flour, salt, pepper, and milk in a screw-top jar until smooth.
- Heat butter in a separate pot. Add garlic, and cook just 60 seconds until fragrant. Add broth mixture, and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir until cream cheese is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.
- Add pasta mixture, chicken, tomatoes, and sweet pepper. Toss to coat. Turn into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish or shallow 3-quart casserole.
- Bake, covered, in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Stir mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
I use my pasta pot and strainer set to eliminate too many dishes. After the tortellini and vegetables are cooked, I pull the strainer pot from the stockpot of water and set it aside. Then I dump the water and use the stockpot for making the sauce.
Also, I use cooked rotisserie chicken that I always have on hand in the freezer. Learn how I do that here.