Boyfriend Approved Tortellini & Sausage

Yesterday, I had the boyfriend go to the store before I got home. I had told him that I was trying something new with the tortellini and it was driving him nuts not knowing what I was doing. He even sent me a message saying BOYFRIEND MUST KNOW lol. Anyways, on the list of stuff he was supposed to pick up was cream cheese. As soon as I got home he started questioning what it was for. I told him, he would just have to wait and see. Long story short he thought I was nuts for even considering adding cream cheese to any kind of pasta dish. In the end though, he loved it. He ended up eating as much of it as he possibly could and still wanted more. So, I now present to you Boyfriend Approved Tortellini & Sausage.

Boyfriend Approved Tortellini & Sausage

• 1 lb of Tortellini (I used the 5 Cheese Tri Color Tortellini from Sam's Club)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Minced Garlic (I used about 2 tablespoons but the boyfriend and I love garlic so use whatever you are comfortable with)
• Onion (I cheated and used the rest of the chopped frozen onion I had in the freezer)
• 1 Package of Smoked Turkey Sausage
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 oz of Cream Cheese cut into smaller pieces
• 1 package of Frozen Broccoli (the pieces of broccoli in mine were relatively large so I only used about 3/4th of it)
• Salt and Pepper

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the tortellini and cook them for about 5 mins (or as directed on the package).

2. While the water boils, cut the smoked turkey sausage into medallion shapes. Add olive oil, garlic and the onion to a large skillet and cook on high until the oil heats up. Add the sausage to the pan. Cook the sausage until all the pieces get a nice brown to them.

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN), oregano, basil, tomato paste, water and stir together until tomato paste dissolves. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Turn the heat down to medium and add cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese melts. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. If needed add more salt and pepper to taste.

5. Add the broccoli, cover the pan and let simmer for a bit until broccoli is cooked. Add the tortellini and stir until well coated. If needed, let sit on low heat for 3-5 minutes, covered.

6. Serve and enjoy!

In total, this meal took about 30 minutes to make.

Boyfriend Approved Sloppy Joe's

My boyfriend is a picky eater. He doesn't like seafood, mushrooms, squash (I see him eat zucchini every week when we get pho though), mustard, olives, anything creamy (mayo, sour cream, etc. - but likes alfredo sauce... *smh*), avocados (including guacamole), tomatoes (but he likes ketchup and spaghetti sauce), beans, coconut, canned green beans, and I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff.

The funny thing is he's Italian and loves Mexican food (how can you be Italian and not like tomatoes and love Mexican food but not want to eat guacamole, beans or sour cream?). I just don't get it. Anyways, the whole point of this story is that I recently moved in with him. Sometimes I make dinner and he loves it. So, as I was stating to wonder what I could write about, it dawned on me... Boyfriend Approved Meals! I'm going to start making him try more stuff (already made him eat shrimp and various sushi, he's so so about both but no longer hates them as much) and perhaps we can start crossing some stuff off the list above. Granted, I too do not like some of the foods listed above, however, I will at least try them periodically to make sure I do not like them still lol.

We are going to start off with something simple. Mustard. He likes deli mustard or specialty mustard but straight up does not like regular mustard. I, on the other hand, love it. That being said, I was having a craving for Sloppy Joe's one night. It might not be a lot of mustard but it was a start. After serving this my boyfriend said and I quote: "These are the best f*cking sloppy joe's I've ever had!" He now asks for them on a regular basis but he will just have to wait lol...

Boyfriend Approved Sloppy Joe's

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 of an onion (I put this in the food processor because well I hate chopping things and I'm lazy, if you are not lazy just finely chop it)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can tomato sauce
1-2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. BBQ sauce of choice
1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I love garlic so I add it to everything, you can omit this if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
buns

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink and drain and add it back to the pan. In a bowl, add the tomato sauce, Worchestershire sauce, mustard, bbq sauce and brown sugar and stir it all together. Add the sauce to the meat. Cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a hamburger bun and TADA boyfriend approved sloppy joe's! I served them with tater tots (again I told you I'm lazy) but you can serve it with a side salad or chips (if you are lazier than I am) or whatever else you like.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures I made this a few weeks ago and had no idea I would be blogging about it until just a few minutes ago, funny how things work, isn't it?