tortellini Archives - The Midnight Baker

Finlandia Creamy Gourmet Cheese–Enjoy It Alone Or As An Ingredient!

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 00:00:47 +0000

Finlandia Creamy Gourmet Cheese is great used just as-is, but why not try it in this delicious tortellini cream soup?

Creamy Gourmet Cheese That Has Many Uses

Finlandia’s Creamy Gourmet Cheese is great right out of the container. These cheeses taste like very rich cream cheese.

There are five flavor varieties: Classic, Black Garlic, Dill, Lemon and Vanilla Bean. Make sure to try them all–they are that good!

The savory flavors are great on crackers and spread on veggies. The Lemon and Vanilla Bean are also good on crackers and fruit as well. The Classic you can add your own touches to, but that’s great alone as well.

These cheeses will be a wonderful addition to my holiday buffets. I plan to have a variety of flavors for my guests along with different crackers, fruits and veggies.

But these great cheeses also lend themselves to being an ingredient in your everyday cooking!

Finlandia Equals Quality

Finladia produces all their products under the highest standards.

These dairy products are all GMO and hormone free. None of the animals are mistreated either. These are standards I can really appreciate.

Another thing that impresses me is all of the dairy farmers own the company, so they benefit by producing high-quality products. Not to mention that Finland is one of the most environmentally proactive countries in the world so nothing produced by Finlandia hurts the earth.

Perfect For Cooking

For me, the savory flavors of Finlandia’s Creamy Gourmet Cheese are perfect for use as an ingredient.

Since cream cheese is one of the ingredients I will add to a cream soup, I replaced the usual with Finlandia’s. The soup has an Italian flair so no flavor was better than the Black Garlic.

Start With The Best Butter

The soup starts with the best butter–Finlandia! Use it to saute your onion.

Next, blend in the Creamy Gourmet Cheese and heat it through.

Gradually add the chicken stock until you have a nice, smooth mixture.

Then just add the tortellini, heat through and add the fresh baby spinach at the very end. Voila, a perfect dinner soup that tastes great!

Get Social With Finlandia

For information on Finlandia’s other wonderful products and recipes, be sure to follow them on the web and in social media

Facebook – @FinlandiaCheese
Twitter – @FinlandiaCheese
Pinterest – @FinlandiaCheese
Instagram – @Finlandia.Cheese
YouTube – @FinlandiaCheese
On the web – @FinlandiaCheese

The Recipe

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Creamy Tortellini Spinach Soup

Finlandia Creamy Gourmet Cheese is great used just as-is, but why not try it in this delicious tortellini cream soup?

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Comfort Foods, pasta, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese soup, creamy soup, Finlandia, gourmet cheese

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 491kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

9 oz fresh cheese tortellini or small package
1 carton Black Garlic Finlandia Creamy Gourmet Cheese
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bag baby spinach
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp Finlandia Imported Butter

Instructions

Melt butter over medium heat in a large (3 quart) saucepan.
Add onion and cook until it's translucent.
Stir in the Finlandia Black Garlic Creamy Gourmet Cheese until it is smooth.
Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring until it's well incorporated.
Place the tortellini in the pot, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until tortellini is al dente.
Stir in the cream and Parmesan cheese; heat through.
Add the spinach and cook just until the spinach wilts.
Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Finlandia . The opinions and text are all mine.

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Creamy Spinach and Tomato Tortellini

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 12 May 2016 23:00:35 +0000

This tortellini and veggie dinner goes together 1-2-3 and anyone who tastes it will declare it “the bomb.”

If you want a quick and very tasty meal, look no further than this dish!

I have to admit I love my local store’s variety of fresh pasta. They have many varieties of fresh tortellini to choose from. I picked 4-cheese for this recipe, but it can be make with any other flavor and it’d still be fantastic–especially if you can get the Italian sausage variety.

Made with cheese tortellini, the dish is vegetarian (but not vegan I am afraid), so this is something to keep in mind for Lent or if you are having company that includes folks who don’t eat meat. But this is so good, the meat eaters won’t be missing out on anything.

Another thing I really love is fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Anything that uses diced tomatoes will have a flavor lift if you substitute them. If you have regular diced or petit diced on hand, those can be easily substituted for the fire-roasted variety.

Because this dinner has ample quantities of both tomatoes and spinach, it’s a complete meal. Clean up is easy too because all you use is two pots–one to cook the pasta and the other to assemble and complete the cooking.

This sauce is creamy, slightly cheesy and so delicious. This is also a kid pleaser.

How much better can you get than a meal that’s fit for company and pleases youngsters?

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Creamy Spinach and Tomato Tortellini

This tortellini and veggie dinner goes together 1-2-3 and anyone who tastes it will declare it “the bomb.”

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Everyday Meals, pasta, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: creamy spinach, tomatoes, tortellini

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 759kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 pkg 16-20 oz fresh cheese tortellini
14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chopped frozen spinach defrosted and drained (see NOTES)
1 clove garlic minced
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp fresh basil -OR- 1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp flour

Instructions

Cook tortellini per package directions; drain and set aside (do not rinse)
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until it becomes fragrant and onion begins to get translucent.
Add undrained tomatoes, basil, spinach, salt and pepper.
Add the drained tortellini and stir to combine.
Mix the milk and cream; add the flour, blending so there are no lumps—I put this in a covered container and shake it.
Add the milk mixture and the cheese. Stir constantly until sauce begins to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Notes

You can substitute fresh spinach for the frozen. Roughly chop it and use 2-3 cups

Nutrition

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Slow Cooker 3-Cheese Tortellini

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This tortellini with 3 cheeses is super easy in your slow cooker!

You’ll never believe how easy this cheesy tortellini is to make–and most of the credit will go to your slow cooker!

I got the idea for mine from my friend Amy who runs the blog Funny Is Family. She posted her version in my Facebook crock pot group and said that her family “fights like wild dogs,” to eat this meal. Now, I had to laugh at that and even though she said this with much humor, she said it was a fairly accurate description. After all, this is a kid-pleasing meal as well as an adult-pleasing one.

Most versions, including Amy’s, use sausage. Don’t get me wrong, sausage is delicious and I enjoy it in most any “red” Italian dish, but for this my taste ran to ground beef. So that’s what I made it with. When it comes to the cheeses, well, that’s pretty much up to what you like, except I would say that mozzarella should be at least one of the cheeses you include. I also included cream cheese to add a creaminess to the sauce and a slightly mellower flavor.

Here, I used fresh tri-colored cheese tortellini. I think cheese is the best choice for this, but that’s just my opinion and since the refrigerated fresh tortellini come in so many varieties, don’t let yourself be hampered when you make this. Changing the flavor of the pasta will change the character of the dish–so go by your personal taste. I picked the tri-color because I thought it’d look very appetizing–and it was!

Because there’s quite a bit of cheese involved here, I didn’t use any salt in this meal. The sauce part cooks first, so resist the temptation to salt that. Better to wait until you’ve added all the cheeses and let them melt to taste and make seasoning corrections at that time.

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Slow Cooker 3-Cheese Tortellini

This tortellini with 3 cheeses is super easy in your slow cooker!

Prep Time10

Cook Time4 30

Total Time4 40

Course: beef, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cheese, crockpot recipes, slow cooker recipes, tortellini

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 846kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 pkg 9-10 oz fresh cheese tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Instructions

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat; drain and add to a 4-5 quart slow cooker
Add the undrained diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, oregano and basil; stir.
Cover and cook on high 2-4 hours, low 4-6 hours.
Add the cream cheese and tortellini; stir. Cover switch the cooker to high and cook for 30 additional minutes. Stir well.
Add the remaining cheeses, stirring until all the cheese is melted and incorporated.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

Salt to taste AFTER addition of the cheeses.

Nutrition

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Creamy Chicken Tortellini

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 23:00:44 +0000

This warm and comforting tortellini dish comes together in less than 30 minutes with a little help from your grocer’s refrigerated pasta section

I am astounded at the varieties of fresh tortellini there is at my local grocery! I always knew you could get the cheese ones, but my store has some really gourmet fillings.

OK, so chicken isn’t exactly gourmet, but it is different. The kind I got was chicken & bacon. Now when you add bacon to anything, you improve it at least 50% by my way of thinking.

Since I wanted to give the sauce a decidedly chicken flavor, I cooked the tortellini in some tasty chicken stock and cooked it in the skillet I was going to prepare the rest of the dish in. This way, I had no extra pots and pans to clean. The chicken stock not only cooked the pasta, but it formed the base of the creamy sauce in the final dish.

You have to use a rich-tasting stock. I find that College Inn Bold to be very good tasting. Knorr concentrated (the stuff that comes in the little tubs) is very good too. I do make my own, but frankly, some of these store-bought stocks taste almost as good, so I figure why bother.

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Creamy Chicken Tortellini

This warm and comforting tortellini dish comes together in less than 30 minutes with a little help from your grocer’s refrigerated pasta section

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Chicken, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken recipe, skillet dinner, tortellini

Servings: 4

Calories: 655kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 pkg refrigerated chicken tortellini
3 cups rich chicken stock i.e. College Inn BOLD Rotisserie
1 cup light cream -or- half and half -or- whole milk
2 cups broccoli florets frozen or fresh
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
2 strips crisp-cooked bacon diced

Instructions

In a very large skillet (12-inches minimum) heat chicken stock to boiling.
Add the tortellini, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 8 minutes.
Add the broccoli florets, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the cream; stir well to combine.
Mix the flour and water well so there are no lumps
Raise heat to medium and when liquid is hot, stir in the flour/water mixture.
Stirring contantly, bring sauce to boil; reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes.
Top with diced bacon

Nutrition

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Kale & Tortellini Alfredo

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Kale & Tortellini Alfredo

Tortellini and kale in a bacon-flavored cheese sauce is a perfect quickie dinner.

Here’s a tasty and easy meal for empty nesters!

Although there’s a few steps in this dish, they are not difficult and the whole shebang is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Perfect dinner for 2

I used kale because I bought a big bag weeks ago, blanched the lot of it and froze it. If you don’t have frozen kale (which is already processed) on hand and want to use fresh kale, it’s necessary to blanche it first. Don’t eliminate this step!! It’s necessary to eliminate some of the waxiness of the vegetable and it also takes away a lot of the bitterness.

It’s perfectly OK to use fresh baby spinach in this. In fact, it’s what the original recipe on cooking.com calls for. I just happened to have kale and thought it would be a better choice for my taste–even though I love spinach too.

A feast for the eyes too!

My recipe also differs from the original in that I use more cheese, less bacon, eliminated spices that I thought were weird with this and also used frozen tortellini.

The recipe serves 2 but it can be easily doubled to serve 4.

Kale & Tortellini Alfredo
1 bag (16 oz) frozen 3-cheese tortellini
2 cups chopped blanched kale*
4 slices bacon
3 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano Cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

*Fresh baby spinach may be substituted. If using fresh kale, it is important to blanche it first by submerging in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, then submerging in ice water, draining and patting dry. Frozen kale has already been blanched and may also be substituted if you wish to use kale and not spinach.

Cook tortellini per package directions; drain and set aside.

Roughly chop bacon.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp and brown. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.

Whisk the flour into the bacon drippings, stirring to eliminate any lumps.

Whisk the milk into the flour/drippings mixture gradually to prevent lumps. Add the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to thicken–about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the cheese. Add the kale in small portions and cook until kale (or spinach) is wilted.

Stir in the cooked tortellini until it’s coated evenly with sauce; heat through.

Top with reserved bacon.

Serves 2

Kale & Tortellini Alfredo

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