Cheese tortellini with ham and peas is the type of meal that my kids fall off of their chairs over. I can’t say that they quiet have that same reaction when I’m serving up roasted veggies and grilled chicken. To keep everyone happy I need to throw them a bone once in a while too, right?! This quick and easy dinner is a favorite in Courtney’s house as well. I mean really….who doesn’t love cheese tortellini? And when you mix it up with the smokey flavors of ham and a little bit of cream it’s pretty much irresistible. Add in some frozen peas and you have a one dish meal, which is the same as winning the dinner lottery.
This dinner might be might be one of our easiest dinners to date. Minus the time it takes to boil the water, this dinner can literally be on your table in 5 minutes. Sound easy enough? We like to buy the fresh tortellini, you can find it in the refrigerated section in the grocery store – usually by the cheeses.
While the tortellini is boiling away you have 5 minutes to make your sauce. This simply consists of melting 1 Tbsp of butter, sautéing the ham to bring out the flavors and then adding in the cream and peas and bringing everything to a very low simmer for a few minutes. Drain the tortellini, toss in the sauce and top with a sprinkle of cheese. You can do this, weeknight dinner made easy!!!
- 20 oz package fresh cheese tortellini - purchased in the refrigerated section of the store, not dry tortellini
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 C chopped ham
- 1 C frozen peas
- ½ C cream
- ⅓ C quattro formaggio cheese or parmesan cheese
- ground pepper
- Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add fresh tortellini and boil for approx 5 minutes or according to package directions.
- While tortellini is boiling heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and add chopped ham, cook for 3 minutes. Add cream and frozen peas, bring to a low simmer - do not boil.
- Drain pasta. Mix tortellini with the cream, peas and ham. Sprinkle with cheese and top with fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.