Tortellini and Vegetable Bake

For all you vegetable lovers out there, this dish is for you. I felt so healthy after eating this. I usually don't put this many vegetables into one meal but my husband loved it. He was pushing around the tortellini and chicken to put the vegetables on his plate. That rarely happens! This is also a great dish for those of you who have gardens and don't know what to do with all of your vegetables. I wish I had a garden. Sadly, a garden isn't really possible in our apartment. Instead, we have grown an entire avocado family. If anyone is looking for an avocado tree to plant, let me know. They need good homes. Now on to what you've all been waiting for, the recipe.

This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients 

• 10 ounces dried cheese-filled tortellini (2-1/2 cups) or two 9-ounce packages refrigerated tortellini
• 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, halved crosswise
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh oregano or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese or light cream cheese (Neufchatel), cubed and softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red or green sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook tortellini in boiling salted water according to package directions, adding the carrot during the last 5 minutes of cooking and the sugar snap peas during the last 1 minute of cooking; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat margarine or butter in a 12-inch skillet. Add chicken and mushrooms, and cook about 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet. I would recommend adding some salt and pepper to the chicken here when cooking it. The chicken had a lack of flavor in my opinion.

3. Shake together chicken broth, oregano, flour, garlic salt, and pepper in a screw-top jar until smooth. Add to skillet along with milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; add cream cheese. Cook and stir until cream cheese is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Add pasta mixture, chicken mixture, tomatoes, and sweet pepper. Toss to coat. Turn into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish or shallow 3-quart casserole.

4. Bake, covered, in a 350 degrees F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Stir mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Transport in an insulated carrier. Makes 12 main-dish servings. After sprinkling it with Parmesan cheese I put it in the broiler for 3 minutes to melt and slightly brown the cheese.