Tortellini Primavera

I am going to what will probably be my last baseball game of the season.  I have only gone to two other games this year, but that is pretty good for me.  I think I only went to one game last year.

I am a pretty indifferent fan, but I support the Nationals.  DC is the only city I have lived in with a professional baseball team.  I don't like watching baseball on TV, but it is fun to see in person.

I like the atmosphere, people watching, the confessions, and the game too of course.   They are playing Philadelphia today.   

I have gone to other games where they played Philadelphia, and there are always lots of Phillies fans in the stadium.  They are are a loud and aggressive bunch.

This is supposedly a healthy recipe.  It is packed full of cheese tortellini and Parmesan so I'm not convinced it's good for me.

This tortellini primavera recipe came from a website called Eating Well.  I used a little bit more tortellini.  I used butter instead of olive oil.  I also used asparagus and carrots for my vegetable mix.

The ingredients are 1 cup carrots, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3 cups asparagus, and 19 ounces cheese tortellini.  I used a package of frozen tortellini.

I added the chopped carrots into a pot of boiling water.  I let the carrots simmer in the water for six minutes.

After six minutes, I added the chopped asparagus and the frozen tortellini.  I cooked this for another four minutes.

Meanwhile, I added the butter to another pot.  I added the flour.  I cooked the flour and butter mixture over medium-high heat for a few minutes.

I added the minced garlic and cooked the flour mixture for another minute or two, stirring constantly.

 I slowly added the broth into the flour mixture.  I stirred constantly.  I added a little bit of broth and stirred until it was incorporated.  I then added more broth.  I repeated this until all the broth was gone.  I stirred until the sauce had thickened.  I then removed the pot from the heat.

I added the chives and grated Parmesan Cheese.  I stirred until all the cheese was melted.

Once the vegetables were tender and the tortellini cooked, I drained them.  I put them back into the pot and added the cheese and chive sauce.  I stirred until everything was coated in sauce.

This was delectable.  It was deliciously cheese and gooey.

The sauce was luscious.  The chives made it bright and fresh.  The Parmesan was creamy and salty.

The carrots were tender.  The asparagus was fully cooked but still crisp.  

The tortellini was well cooked.  They are carbs and cheese, so they have lots going for them.  They didn't disappoint.

 You could really change this up with different vegetable and herbs depending on the season.  I think you could even make this with butternut squash and nutmeg.

Overall, it was a delightful and pleasing dish.  I enjoyed it immensely.  It was a convenient meal to bring in a pack lunch too.