Crock Pot Sausage & Cheese Tortellini

Crock Pot Sausage & Cheese Tortellini, Adaptred from ChefRecip.es

 Hi y'all! Geez it's been a long time since I've been on here and I'm truly sorry for that. Life gets away from us too easily and things like blogging seem less important when things in your personal life are stressful, difficult, and trying. To say this year so far has been hard, would be an understatement. But we're coming out on the other side and I'm so thankful for my amazing hubby and kids and the closeness we share. I pray that never ceases.

We have had some joys in this year though... I have a new sister!! Lol! My husbands brother finally found himself a wife, and can I just say we are beyond thrilled for them! My son just got back from spending the night with the newlyweds and he had a blast! And in less than 2 weeks we're taking the biggest trip we've taken as a whole family, we're driving about 2,000 miles to go to IL for my best friend's wedding! We've been friends for almost 20 years, and she was my Maid of Honor, and now I get to be her Matron of Honor, and my kiddos are Ring Bearer and Flower Girl respectively! It's exciting to be a part of this, and I'm just praying we make it through the drive! lol!

That about summarizes up my crazy life, oh there are things I left out of course, but you get the gist. Now onto the food....

Believe it or not I have still been cooking.... However not many new things. Getting dinner on the table recently has been more of a chore than ever before as I'm not home most days. Which is another reason for the lack of posts, I haven't had anything new to share. But recently I've been trying to cook more, and tonight we tried this new recipe and my whole family devoured it!

Y'all know I'm a fan of crock pot meals, preferably ones where there's no pre-cooking involved. But I saw this one on Pinterest and just had to give it a try. And after a few adaptations my goodness was this amazing, and surprisingly lower in calories than I expected... A 1 1/2 cups per serving is only 321 calories according to MyFitnessPal! Oh did I mention I've lost 30 lbs? No? Oh well I have! I feel amazing! Ok, back to the recipe! lol! It was delicious, easy and I know these leftovers won't last because my new Sis in Law is asking when she can come eat some more. ;-)

Ingredients: 6-8 servings at 1 1/2 cups (calories ~ 321 per serving)
20 oz. 3 Cheese Tortellini (I bought the Buitoni one in the deli section)
1 Lbs. Hot Italian Sausage (I bought the links and just removed the casings)
2 15oz. Cans Diced Italian Tomates
3 Cups Chicken Broth (I made my own with Boullion)
6 oz. Cream Cheese, sliced into cubes
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
Remove the casings from your sausage and cook in a large skillet over med-high heat until browned and cooked through. Meanwhile spray a 6qt. Crock Pot with cooking spray, and put the tortellini, broth, tomatoes and cream cheese in the crock. Once the sausage is cooked, drain off the fat and add to the crock pot. Mix well, and cook on high for 2-4 hours. If you can stir occasionally. Once cooked add the mozzarella and mix well, serve hot with your favorite garlic bread and a side salad.

Review:
This dish came together so quickly and easily, and the taste really was amazing. I did alter the recipe because I didn't think it needed the extra cup of broth since it's not a soup, nor did it need the full 8oz. of cream cheese to be creamy, and we really didn't miss it. This was perfectly cooked, was not soup like at all and had phenomenal flavor! 4.5 stars!

Happy Spring!