a new dinner.

tortellini with walnuts and apple

i don't have to make dinner tomorrow or thursday night (gloriously happy about this!) and really this weekend is just me and the kids, so no real cooking will be done.

so tonight for dinner, i knew i didn't want to defrost any chicken (ours in 2 breasts to a pack, and i am sooooooooo frugal (so frugal, ha, if sam walks through the door and mentions either pizza or tortilla grill-my favorite mexican- i immediately balk at all thoughts of a "budget") that i only use one breast for me and sam) and have one lonely breast go to waste. earlier that day i had settled on the idea of making a crustless quiche. easy peasy- just throw in some veggies, and thanks to wic i have everything else always on hand, plus everyone in the house loves it.

then this month's issue of Real Simple arrived, and on the cover: a month of meals.

perfect.

i leafed through the heavy magazine, and found a tasty looking recipe for: ravioli with walnuts and apple.

now, i never seem to have raviolis on hand, but i always have cheese tortellini's in my freezer (actually due to another favorite recipe from Real Simple), and i just happened to have a big bag of walnuts.

this meal was delicious! and SO easy. i cannot describe how easy this was, how great it smelled while i was cooking it, and how yummy it tasted.

you can follow the above link to see the original recipe. i substituted ravioli for tortellini's and i used dried parsley instead of fresh, and i only used 1/4 cup walnut, and 1 T olive oil (to reduce the fat, it was still plenty flavorful). with this i served asparagus and zucchini drizzled with olive oil and baked for 10 minutes at 425.

yum. yum. yum.

if any of you have a potluck you are attending, this would be wonderful served at room temperature, and could easily be either a salad/main dish, and a great item for a vegetarian.