Spicy Tortellini & Meatballs

            This next recipe for Spicy Tortellini & Meatballs is so delicious and simple (I know, I know, I always say that!) that I have considered keeping it to myself.  It is so good, in fact that if you were to serve it to a guest, they would never guess it was prepared in a slow cooker!  In fact, when I was warming up the leftovers at school, my coworker asked me what it was and how I prepared it.  I ‘fessed up and told her how easy it was, and now she can’t wait to make it for herself!

            While Chris and I were eating this dish, he proclaimed, “That crock pot is the best thing we got for our wedding!”  I agreed, and added that I was pretty grateful for the Super Fast, Slow Cooking cook book we also received as a wedding gift as we all know I would never come up with this stuff myself!  The crock-pot has become so essential in our home on Wednesday’s.  Our Wednesday’s are SO crazy and we literally go from thing to thing all day until we both get home with about 30 minutes or so to spare before our God Teens start showing up.

            So, what I typically do, is take a bit of time while getting ready to throw the ingredients in the crock pot (which is literally what I did with this one), set it to low, set the table, and go to work and return to a home that smells of delicious food and no dinner mess!  This recipe only requires 3-4 hours to cook, so I just made a pit stop home before my afternoon meeting, and the timing was perfect.  If you have a crock-pot and are in the mood for something a little different, please give this one a try!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-14 oz. pkg. frozen cooked Italian meatballs, thawed.

-16 oz. pkg. frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot blend, thawed (I found one in the frozen section that said “Italian Style veggies”)

-2 cups cheese tortellini, uncooked

-2 10 ¾ oz. cans cream of mushroom soup

-2 ¼ cup water

-1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin

-Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

-Combine meatballs, vegetables, and tortellini in a slow cooker.

-In a large bowl, whisk together soup, water and seasonings.

-Pour over meatball mixture; stir to combine well.

-Cover and cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours.