While the Fall season undoubtedly belongs to soups, chilis and stews, the quintessential “cozy” foods to enjoy after a brisk day out in the foliage or when surrounding a bonfire with your friends and family – I’m always and forever a lover of a good, hearty pasta dish this time of year since they seem a little more filling and can feed a crowd for cheap.
I’ve been whipping up this tortellini and chicken sausage combination over the past few weeks, both to feed guests and when doing my meal prep for the days I’ve had to head into the office. It’s completely customizable (as most of the recipes I share tend to be!) and only requires a handful of ingredients and just under an hour of time to prep and prepare – so you can get right back out there and keep enjoying all things Autumnal!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
4-5 SERVINGS:
- One 20 ounce package of packaged, refrigerated tortellini (I used the Buitoni Five Cheese one)
- 2-3 Sweet Italian chicken sausage links, sliced.
- One Boursin Garlic & Herb Cheese Puck
- One 24 ounce jar of red pasta sauce of your choosing (I used Rao’s Homemade Tomato Basil)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. While the oven is pre-heating, cook the tortellini on your stovetop according to package instructions. Strain once completed and set aside.
2. In a glass baking dish, place the unwrapped Boursin Cheese Puck in the center. Pour the cooked tortellini around the puck. Add the sausage slices around the inside of the dish.
3. Cover the pasta and sausage evenly with the red sauce and drizzle the ½ cup of heavy cream in. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for approximately 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove the baking dish from the oven and stir to combine the ingredients, making sure that the Boursin puck is mixing with the pasta/pasta sauce and sausage. Once the tortellini and sausage are coated evenly, sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole and place back in the oven.
5. Allow an additional 15 minutes to cook or until the parmesan appears to crispen. Remove from the oven, season with salt & pepper, and enjoy!
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I’ve tried a couple of variations of this based on known preferences – including a version that used spicy sausage and a dash of hot sauce and another version that had a lot of cooked, chopped spinach in it and a little less cheese – but the one I’ve shared here is sort of the “bare bones” version that you can work with and around!
A little later on this week, I’ll be taking you all on another little tour of my current wardrobe before things start getting a little more spooky this coming weekend!
’til then!
xo
