Yummy Tortellinis

Last weekend we had Husband's parents over for dinner to celebrate my father-in-laws birthday.  I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest and it was so delicious, you should try it too!  It was originally from www.ourbestbakes.com.


Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
*  12 oz. of totellini (the originaly recipe recommend Barilla, but I just used some from Costco)
*  4 oz. of bacon (about 4 strips)
*  3 cloves garlic
*  2 Tbsp. flour
*  2 cups milk
*  3/4 tsp. salt
*  1/8 tsp. pepper
*  1 1/2 tsp. dry basil
*  1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (I used Hatch chile powder instead)
*  1 medium lemons
*  2 cups loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
*  3/4 cups mozzarella, shredded
*  3/4 cups Parmesan, shredded

Preheat oven to 350* degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add tortellini and cook accordingly.

Cook bacon until crispy in a medium pan on medium heat.  Remove bacon and place on paper towel.  Add minced garlic to pan and cook until tender.  Add flour and whisk together, slowly add milk and continue to whisk until smooth.  Add salt, pepper, basil and red pepper (or red chile powder) and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, zest lemon.  Then cut in half and juice.  And lemon zest and juice to sauce (Husband decided to add more than that  It was very yummy and lemony).  Continue to stir sauce until thick, about 2-3 minutes.

Drain tortellini and place back in pot.  Crumble bacon and add to pasta.  Add spinach,  1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Next add sauce and gently stir to combine.

Place mixture in baking dish.  Top with remaining 1/4 cups of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

I doubled the recipe just in case.  We had enough leftovers for two more meals.  Which is always nice, and I didn't have to worry about there not being enough and people going to bed still hungry!






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