Tortellini Casserole with Hidden Veggies
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My daughter will eat almost any vegetable, while my son will pretty much only eat green beans, corn and beans (legumes). If I try to mix any veggie other than corn or beans into a casserole? Forget it!
I wanted to and see if I could get away with hiding finely chopped broccoli and other veggies in a casserole. So I pulled out my Mom’s 25 year old food processor that she conveniently left at my house over the holidays and got to work. I added about a cup of broccoli spears to the processor and pulsed it to fine consistency.
I hid it in between the layers of a Tortellini Casserole. (I also added a chopped tomato while I was at it…)
Recipe for Tortellini Casserole with Hidden Veggies
Ingredients:
1 large bag of frozen tortellini (20 or more oz, I used around 30 oz and split it in to 2 smaller pyrex dishes)
1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup of sliced peperoni
1 cup of broccoli finely diced (optional)
1 medium tomato diced (optional)
olive oil for drizzling
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add the frozen tortellini to a greased 8X12 casserole dish. (you could use precooked tortellini as well, just reduce baking time by about 10 minutes.)
If you want to add the extra veggies, sprinkle them on top of the tortellini.
Then add a layer of the chopped pepperoni.
Sprinkle the mozzarella on top.
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| Here, I have layered everything up to the spaghetti sauce. |
Cover with the spaghetti sauce.
Add spoonfuls of ricotta on top of the pasta sauce.
Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs on top.
Drizzle olive oil on top of the breadcrumbs.
Bake for around 30 minutes until golden Brown and bubbly. If you find the top is getting too brow, just cover with a sheet of foil for the last few minutes.
Enjoy!
