Easy Creamy Vegetable Tortellini Recipe

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When it comes to serving my family meals, I  want to make sure I do my best to put a nutritious and delicious meal on the table.  I also don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Whipping up this quick and easy Creamy Vegetable Tortellini Recipe ensures we can all enjoy a great tasting dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Did you know that  nearly 80 percent of Americans fail to consume the recommended amounts of fruit, with nearly 90 percent failing to meet dietary recommendations for vegetables? Fruits and vegetables are major contributors of essential nutrients in our diets, and consuming fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases.  Given the increase in the rates of chronic diseases among all age groups, eating a diet rich in a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is more important than ever.  Many factors can contribute to low consumption of fruits and vegetables, including cost and convenience.

A recent study revealed one easy solution to make sure everyone can enjoy fruits and vegetables all year long – buy frozen.  One of the main ingredients in our Creamy Vegetable Tortellini Recipe is frozen mixed vegetables. Freezing is simply nature’s pause button.  Frozen fruits and vegetables are picked and frozen at their peak ripeness, locking in the nutrient value at the point of freezing. Frozen fruits and vegetables offer consumers convenient, affordable and easy to serve options that help simplify meal preparation.

The University of California, Davis, in partnership with the Frozen Food Foundation, conducted a study that revealed that frozen fruits and vegetables are most often (or generally) nutritionally equal to – and in some cases better than – their fresh counterparts.  For the study each fruit and vegetable was analyzed under the following conditions:  frozen (analyzed within 24 hours of harvest and after 10 and 90 days of storage in a freezer) and fresh-stored (analyzed within 24 hours of harvest and after three and 10 days of storage in a refrigerator).

 

Quick & Easy Creamy Vegetable Tortellini Recipe

INGREDIENTS

•  16-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup light cream cheese (you can use flavored cream cheese, too)
• 1 teaspoon dill or chive
• 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables
• 16-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini

Instructions

• Cook Tortellini as directed.
• Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl.
• Heat 4 TBSP broth mixture in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

• Add cream cheese to pan and stir constantly until melted.
• Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil,stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens. Approx. 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat and sprinkle with dill or chives.

• Add vegetables to sauce and continue to stir until heated through.

• Toss in tortellini.
• Serve immediately.

 

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