Tortellini Primavera

 

It's a sad state of affairs. Our freezer is dangerously close to running out of beef. When the pandemic hit last year and grocery stores were having trouble stocking essentials, consumers suddenly wanted to purchase beef and other meats from farmers and ranchers.

 

That's a great thing for the industry. But it created a new problem. Suddenly, producers were booking extra harvest dates for their animals at the small butcher shops. 

 

It pushed wait times for appointments to more than a year away. We called our processing plant a year ago. The first available date was September 2021!

 

While we normally would have butchered a couple of steers this spring, we are now waiting until September. I'm already out of our homegrown hamburger, and I've already gone through the first extra 20 pounds we purchased from Ellinwood Packing. 

So I've found some recipes that don't use my go-to freezer beef. This Tortellini Primavera was one we enjoyed. 

It's loaded with veggies. It also used up some frozen tri-color tortellini that had been hanging around in my freezer. So win-win!

 

If you have leftovers, add a splash of cream or milk. Pasta always absorbs liquid after it's refrigerated.  

Enjoy!

 

 

Tortellini Primavera

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman blog

 

2 tbsp. butter

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (you can use jarred minced garlic)

3 whole carrots, peeled and diced

1 cup broccoli florets, rough chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth 

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup cooked ham, diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 pound cheese, spinach or tri-color tortellini

Extra Parmesan for serving

Cook tortellini a couple of minutes less than package directions call for. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrots and broccoli, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the liquid reduces a bit. Stir in cream and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and stir.

When the mixture is hot and a cream sauce has formed, stir in peas, ham, salt and pepper. Allow them to heat through. When the sauce is hot, stir in the tortellini. Check seasonings and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed. Allow the pasta to heat back up, then serve with extra Parmesan. Serves 6.

If you have leftovers, add a splash of cream or milk. Pasta always absorbs liquid after it's refrigerated.