Chicken and Veggie Tortellini

There aren't too many recipes I find myself ripping our of my Southern Living magazines, but this recipe has me regretting canceling my subscription. It was hands down one of the best recipes I've tried in a while. I don't know how to use the grill, so I decided to sauté the chicken and zucchini. It came out just as good. Enjoy!

Ingredients
4 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise (about 1 1/4 lb.)
2 skinned and boned chicken breasts (13 oz.)
1 tablespoon freshly ground Italian herb seasoning
1 (19-oz.) package frozen cheese-filled tortellini
1 (7-oz.) container refrigerated reduced-fat pesto
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation
1. Preheat grill to 300° to 350° (medium) heat. Sprinkle zucchini and chicken with seasoning.

2. Grill zucchini and chicken at the same time, covered with grill lid. Grill zucchini 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until tender. Grill chicken 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from grill; let stand 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare tortellini according to package directions.

4. Coarsely chop chicken and zucchini. Toss tortellini with pesto, tomatoes, chicken, and zucchini. Serve immediately. Garnish, if desired.

Rotini Pasta Bake

Happy Mother's Day! Derek and I were excited to have my family over to our new house for Mother's Day dinner. After spending a long time thinking about what to make, I finally decided on pasta. My brother and father are picky eaters, so it seemed to be the best choice for our Italian family. I used to make this meal all the time because it leaves a lot of leftovers (Derek's lunch for the week)!

45 oz. pasta sauce
15 oz. ricotta cheese
14 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 box of rotini pasta
1/4 cup. grated parmesan cheese
1 lb. ground turkey
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. parsley

Directions:
1. Boil water and cook pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, cook the turkey meat. (preheat oven to 350)
3. After the turkey meat is cooked, pour 3/4 of the pasta sauce into a medium saucepan. Add the cooked turkey meat, along with the basil, oregano, and parsley seasoning and stir. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.
4. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, pour 1/2 of the rotini pasta. On top of that layer pour 1/2 of the meat sauce mixture.
5. In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the ricotta cheese. Spread this cheese mixture onto the top of the meat sauce.
6. For the next layer, pour the rest of the rotini pasta on top of the ricotta/mozzarella mixture. Top with the remaining meat sauce mixture.
7. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella over the top of the final layer.
8. Bake (covered with aluminum foil) on 350 for 30 minutes.
9. Heat the leftover pasta sauce and place in a bowl. Allow guests to top their pasta with additional sauce if desired. ENJOY!