Tortellini with Summer's End Bounty

                       Let me state the obvious……I love sausage and I know I make a lot of dishes using it. I find the flavor and depth it gives to many dishes almost irreplaceable. With that being said, I do realize the not-so-healthy kind of meal that comes about when using. However, I try to only use it once a week and between 2 people, I only use 2 links at a time. This cuts down on fat, calories, and grease. I also love to use this ingredient because it is cheap! As a coupon-cutting, stick-to-my-list kind of shopper, I like when I can buy one package of something and it yields 3 meals! Yes, 3 because I typically use 2 links per meal, and the package holds 6 links in total- my type of mathJ  This amazingly equates to spending, oh about $3.50 for three separate meals! Stupendous!  So here is another recipe that features my beloved sausage, paired with cheese filled tortellini and fresh veggies. I added more wine than usual because 1- it was the bottom of the bottle and I wanted to finish it and 2- why the heck not?!? The resulting brothy base it created with the juicy cherry tomatoes was delicious and light. I think adding toasted pignioli nuts next time to step up the texture would be a great idea. I’ll have to remember to put them on the “list” next week! Enjoy……

Tortellini with Summer’s End Bounty

Serves: 4-6

OBJ: TCW be able to take advantage of the last of summer’s bounty of farmers’ market goodies

Ingredients:

1 package frozen tortellini

2 sweet sausage links, casings removed

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

½ C dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio, but use what you booze!)

½ TBS unsalted butter

½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2-3 C fresh spinach, cleaned and roughly chopped

2 zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch rounds

¼ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

S & P: salt and pepper

Procedures:

1. Boil water and cook tortellini according to package directions

2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat 1 TBS oil over medium heat

3. Add garlic and sausage, and using the back of your spoon, crumble sausage and let brown, about 8-10 minutes

4. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from pan to a paper towel-lined bowl or plate

5. Return pan to flame, add the other 1 TBS oil to pan and lower heat to medium low. Add wine and using the back of the spoon, scrape up the “bits” from the bottom, up flame to high and let wine come to boil. Once boiling, let reduce for about 2 minutes

6. Add tomatoes, zucchini, butter, and a generous pinch of S & P to pan. Stir well, lower heat to medium low, cover for 10 minutes

7. Uncover sauté mixture, crush tomatoes with fork, add sausage back into pan, then add spinach, cover again to help spinach wilt for about 2 minutes

8. Toss the mixture, adding about 2 TBS of pasta water to create “broth”, add tortellini and Parmesan cheese

9. Stir well and bring to tableJ