Better Than Take Out

T-minus three days and counting till the birthday caking begins so I thought I would share another recipe I made over the winter. It's no secret that we do not eat out very much and even that is an understatement. If we eat takeout twice a year that's a lot for us but we kept seeing commercials for the Olive Garden's Vino Bianco Pork Scallopini and it looked so yummy! The problem is, neither one of our stomachs do well at Olive Garden. Yeah it tastes good going in but an hour later both of us have tummy aches and rumbles and well, you get the idea. I figured that I could make a reasonable facsimile here at home that tasted great, was less expensive and more easily digestible by our finicky tummies.

Tortellini With Spinach & Mushrooms

1 package frozen Cheese Tortellini, cooked & drained
4 T butter
8 oz sliced Crimini Mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 C white wine or chicken stock
1 C half & half

1/2 C milk
4 T Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 lb bag frozen leaf spinach, thawed and well drained

Melt butter over medium heat then add mushrooms, stir to coat with butter. Allow mushrooms to cook for 1-2 minutes then add garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Raise heat to high, continue to stir and when you begin to see brown bits on the bottom of the pan dump in all the wine and stir to deglaze. Bring to a hard boil and allow to boil for about 3 minutes or until slightly reduced. Add cream all at once, bring to a boil again and continue to stir while mixture reduces about 4 minutes. Lower heat slightly, add cheese and continue stirring and cooking until sauce coats back of spoon. Remove from heat and stir in spinach and tortellini.

After making this the first time (pictured above) we decided it would have been nice to have it a little more saucy so I suggest (and accounted for it in the recipe) adding the 1/2 cup of milk. Of course, if you like it thick feel free to omit it.