Tortellini Pasta Bowl

My favorite friend brought over a tortellini kabob appetizer. It was so good. My youngest son loved it. He wanted me to make it for him. I said sure and my favorite friend gave me her recipe. She had seen it while waiting for an appointment. Since she was preparing the recipe from memory, she had to improvise.

I went out and purchased the ingredients then my husband asked what we were having for supper. I told him I was making the appetizer and some other snack kind of food. He said he was really hungry. I said I would think improvise. My son loved it. My husband was happy. I was glad since it came out well.

Tortellini Pasta Bowl

1 package of fresh tortellini
1 package Italian sausage (I used chicken sausage)
10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 pint of sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
2 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp rosemary, chopped
pinch of sugar
10 mini fresh mozzarella balls
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 bunch fresh basil, torn into pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to directions.
While the pasta water is heating, in a medium bowl combine the garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Add the cherry tomatoes with the mushrooms to the bowl. Set aside.
In a skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat for five minutes.
Remove the tomatoes and set in a small bowl.
Add the marinade with the mushrooms to the skillet. Mix with the sausage. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and gently incorporate. Cook for 2 minutes.
Toss in the mozzarella balls and the Parmesan cheese to the skillet. Cook for one minute.
Remove from the heat and add the tomatoes with the basil to the skillet.
Serve with additional Parmesan cheese as garnish.

Recipe from Jen of Sweet Morris with Peggy's help

Did you already know...............
-Tortellini is a ringed shaped pasta stuffed with either meat or cheese.
-Tortellini often served in sauce or broth.
-Bologna is known for its tortellini.
-Theories for the shape of the tortellini range from (the goddess of love) Venus's navel or a turtle.

Do you think the tortellini looks more like a person's navel or a turtle?

I always thought it looked more like a ring.

Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken

Did I surprise you that I didn't post a Halloween meal? I guess I could call this ooey gooey chicken. Ooey gooey is a technical term. We even have a child's book with the title of Ooey Gooey. In the story, a pirate loses his gold tooth when he eats his ooey gooey pirate delight. Don't worry you will not lose a tooth if you make this dish. 

Remember the previous photo of my daughter (See Princess cake). The tooth fairy has been at our house a lot lately. When my oldest daughter lost her first tooth, she informed us that her tooth fairy brings only gold dollars. Over the years, the tooth fairy continues to bring gold dollars. My youngest daughter receives the Sacagawea gold coin dollars and my son receives the Presidential gold dollars so they would know which dollar belongs to which child.

It is very good. The chicken came out very moist and I could cut it with a fork. I served the dish with rice. 

Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken with roasted tomatoes and broccoli
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped/torn
2 Tbsp milk (I used skim)
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 stalks of broccoli, roughly broken apart

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray a 9 x13 baking dish with a nonstick spray.
3. In a bowl, combine the cheese, 1 Tbsp basil, milk, salt, and pepper.
4. Squeeze the 1/2 lemon into the bowl mixture and mix. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the garlic, olive oil, and 1Tbsp basil. Set aside.
6. Hold your chicken and slice down the side of it but stop about an inch from the other side.
7. Open up the chicken breast and fill with the cheese mixture.
8. Hold the chicken back together and secure with toothpicks. I used two per a chicken.
9. Place chicken breast in the baking dish.
10. Spread mayonnaise evenly over the top of each chicken.
11. Top the mayonnaise with the bread crumb mixture. Press lightly to adhere.
12. In another baking dish, toss tomatoes with some olive oil. Salt and pepper.
13. Tranfer the tomatoes around the chicken in the other baking dish.
      (Trying to save dirty dishes.)
14. In the now empty baking dish, place the broccoli.
15. Toss the broccoli with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
16. Place both the broccoli and chicken dishes in the oven. **See below note**
17. Bake for 15 minutes.
18. Place foil loosely over the chicken to prevent the bread crumbs from burning.
19. Cook for 10 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

**Now, prepare rice as directed on the stove top so it will finish at the same time as the chicken. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Let's Dish

Did you already know.................
-Sacagawea was from the Shoshone Indian tribe.
-In 1804, Sacagawea at age fifteen and six months pregnant when she assisted Lewis and Clark on their expedition west.
-Sacagawea's husband accompanied them during the expedition.
-Her son, Jean Baptiste, was born during the expedition.
-Lewis and Clark's expedition took a little over two years.

 Today, you can fly across the U.S. in six hours or drive in about six days.