Baked Tortellini & Meat Sauce

The Lineman and I both work full time jobs.  We leave our house by 7:30 (if we are doing good) and we don't get home until going on 6:00 most nights.  By the time you factor in needing to give Carter a bath and to bed by 8:30, it doesn't leave much time for cooking.  For the longest time, and still some nights, I resorted to carry out for dinner.  Thankfully, my mom and mother-in-law are good about helping and invite us for supper regularly, but obviously not every night.  For that reason, I am always trying to find easy meals that can be made in a hurry to put into my dinner rotation.  

One of my sister-in-law's recently told me about a baked tortellini and sauce meal that she makes and I tried it a few weeks back and it couldn't be easier and more delicious!  

You will need 2 packs of the refrigerated tortellini pasta (I used the three cheese kind...cause I like cheese).  Pasta sauce...I used  a bag of frozen meat sauce that I made using the Pioneer Woman's recipe.   You can find it here.  I have made this in bulk and frozen it in small batches a couple of times and it comes in so handy!!   (As a side note, the last time I made it, I only had 2 lbs. of ground beef on hand, so I subbed in 3 lbs. of ground deer burger meat.  I think it turned out better than usual!)  If you don't have frozen meat sauce, I am sure you could just use a regular store bought jar of sauce and add meat if you want.  However, the Lineman refuses to eat something if it doesn't have meat in it, so it is nice to have the homemade meat sauce on hand.  And, you will need some shredded cheese to top it off.  I used mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  

First, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add in your tortellini and cook according to the package.  

While it's cooking, heat up your sauce in a small pan.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and pour into a casserole dish, tossing with olive oil to keep it from sticking together. 

Then top with your meat sauce. 

And then your shredded cheeses.

  

Then throw it in the oven and bake it at 350 for as long as it takes the cheese to get a little brown and bubbly.  And it should come out looking something like this: 

Serve it with some garlic or cheese bread and a salad, if you are being really productive.  I was not, come on it was a Monday night.  This is a super easy dinner and it makes for great leftovers.  

Obviously this is not for someone who doesn't like noodles...or cheese...or is on a diet.  But, if you don't fall into any of those categories, try it out and let me know what you think!  :)