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My friend, Kerri, made this for me awhile back. It is a recipe from Southern Living. I have adapted it just a bit. I loved it so much at her house.

I memorized what was in it so I could search the internet for the recipe. This is such an easy and delicious dish. I like to make it on nights I don’t have a lot of time to cook, but still want my family to have a homemade meal. It takes about fifteen minutes to make start to finish.

I added just a few things.

As I do. But if you want to follow the original recipe, just click the link above. I like it both ways.

Ingredients

20 oz. package of tortellini (I use Costco’s 24 oz. package and I use the whole thing)
1 16 oz. jar of Alfredo sauce with sun dried tomatoes (I believe Classico is the only brand that makes this)
1/4 cup white wine
1 14.5 oz. can drained petite diced tomatoes
1 clove minced garlic (I use one packet from the frozen pack)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I use one packet from the frozen pack)
1 pinch of dried red pepper flakes (1/8 tsp.)
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Optional:

2 cooked diced chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. Red pepper spread

First, boil water in large pot. Add tortellini and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the boiling water and cook pasta according to directions on package. Before draining, carefully reserve 1/3 cup water.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium low . Sauté garlic for one minute (if you are using red pepper spread add this with the garlic).

Add Alfredo sauce to skillet.

Add wine to empty Alfredo sauce jar. Gently shake. Pour wine into skillet.

Add tomatoes and basil to skillet. Let mixture simmer five minutes.

Add chicken with the tomatoes and basil if you are using this.

Add drained tortellini. Mix in pepper flakes, reserved water, and parmesan cheese.

Stir.

Heat for one minute. Turn off heat.

Serve up this easy meal. And enjoy!

Thanks Kerri for making me this. It was so good! My family absolutely loves it.

I was all set to make my leftover spaghetti meal with my tried and true recipe, but then I realized I did not have cream cheese. My heart was very heavy that day. I just did not have the energy to make it to the store.

I thought, hmmm…Can I make it with tears?

Just kidding. I raided my pantry. I had thought ahead and had bought a red bell pepper. So, I knew I wanted to incorporate it.

Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients

Leftover spaghetti meat with sauce
One extra jar pasta sauce
Pasta (any old kind you like)
1/4 cup red wine (cause it was that kind of night)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded four cheese mexican
1/2 cup italian cheese
1/4 cup and 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 – 1/2 cup bread crumbs (depending on how you want your bread crumb to butter ratio for the topping. I have tried both measurements. I like them both. In the pictures, I am using 1/4 cup.)
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 diced and seeded red bell pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
~~Tears~~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or 325 degrees convection bake (if you have a convection oven).

Boil noodles according to instructions. Before you drain, reserve 1/3 cup water from pot. Carefully. Set aside. Drain noodles. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add diced red bell pepper. Cook approximately 5 minutes until soft. Add wine to skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes until it is bubbling and calling your name.

Add leftover spaghetti sauce and new jar of sauce to skillet. Heat up until boiling. Add salt and pepper. Stir.

In the meantime, mix together melted butter, bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Turn off heat to pasta sauce. Add reserved water. Stir. Add sour cream. Quickly stir. Add noodles. Stir.

Add shredded italian and four cheese mexican cheese and you guessed it…stir.

Place in casserole dish.

Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over top. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes until edges are bubbling.

Turn oven to broil. Broil casserole until the top is just golden brown. This should be thirty seconds to one minute. Watch this!

Then serve it up with salad! This was actually incredibly delicious. The bell pepper with the red wine added that “something special.”

I never know how it is going to go when I throw leftovers together. My family really liked this. So, I will definitely be making it again! I recommend just trying new things. Putting tastes you like together. The worst that could have happened was that the leftovers were ruined and we would have eaten salad for dinner. Yes, I am the mom saying play with your food. It is fun!

What has been your most successful leftover food recreation?

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

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