TORTELLINI CHEESY BAKE

Pasta Monday or feeding a weekend crowd, this dish is SO GOOD! It’s cheesy, creamy + filling, and sure to be kid-approved or perfect for planning ahead with leftovers! Give it a try! You can leave the ground beef out if you prefer or substitute it with ground turkey, chicken, or just veggies!

Baked cheesy tortellini is like a big warm hug in food form, and it’s practically a family institution in our house. What’s even better is that it’s a leftovers hero. The next day, you can just pop it in the microwave or oven for a quick and satisfying meal. Whether it’s a weeknight dinner or a Sunday family gathering, you can bet that baked cheesy tortellini is the crowd-pleaser! It’s comfort food at its finest, and we can’t get enough of it!

**Ingredients**

-1 (20oz) container of refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini

-1 jar (24oz) pasta sauce

-One cream cheese block (8oz)

-Ground beef 1lb

-1-2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded

-1/2 (aka measure with your heart) grated or shredded parmesan

-favorite seasonings for meat (think garlic salt, pepper, thyme, Italian seasoning etc…)

**Instructions**

  1. Cook the tortellini pasta a la dente, by the package directions. Drain it and set aside.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
  3. Brown the beef in a large skillet, seasoning the meat with your choice of spices.
  4. Drain the grease from the beef and stir in pasta sauce. Once mixed, add in the cream cheese. Simmer until blended.
  5. Toss the tortellini in gently to mix with sauce. Transfer to the baking dish, add the shredded mozzerella + parmesean.
  6. Leave uncovered and bake for 25 minutes. You can broil it for the last 3 minutes if you enjoy a browned cheesy top.

Serve with salad and garlic bread! It’s also good with roasted broccoli sprinkled with Italian seasoning and parmesan or your family favorite veggies!