Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Bake by Wendy

Ingredients:
Pasta Mixture:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 jar (16 oz.) white Alfredo Pasta Sauce
1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated cheese-filled regular or spinach tortellini
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Assembly Day:
1. Chop onion. Heat oil over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in pasta sauce, tortellini, chicken, milk, water, peas, black pepper and basil.
2. Pour into gallon size Ziploc bag and freeze.
3. Melt butter in microwave 30-45 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and cheese; mix well. Spoon into sandwich size freezer bag.

Serving Day: Thaw mixture and topping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spoon pasta mixture into 8x8 pan, sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per servings: Calories 550, Total Fat 24g, Saturated Fat 12g, Cholesterol 110mg, Carbohydrate 54g, Protein 28g, Sodium 1150mg, Fiber 4g.
Cooks Tips:
Alfredo sauce in a jar can be found in the pasta sauce section of the supermarket. Do not substitute refrigerated Alfredo sauce; it may separate and curdle during baking.
To quickly snip basil leaves, stack the leaves and roll them up into a tight cylinder. Using a knife, slice the roll crosswise into thin strips. Then cut them using scissors.