Five Layer Tortellini Pie

i think it's about time for a savory dish, don't you? GCF has been a little heavy on the sweets lately. margarita cupcakes, angel food cupcakes, and double chocolate cupcakes. whew! at least there was a dish with bacon thrown in there.

so, tonight i made a pasta dish. and guess what? it even has vegetables in it! it's actually a hearty vegetarian dish. for some reason (i.e. too many sweets) i have been craving veggies this week. i guess i should get them in while i want them:)

so about this 5 layer tortellini pie - it's kind of amazing. i got the inspiration from lasagna but switched up some of the ingredients. i basically just layered a bunch of wonderful ingredients in a pie dish, baked it all together and served it up.

here are the five layers:

1. spinach and cheese tortellini

2. cream cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and garlic

3. roasted zucchini, mushrooms, and shallots

4. crushed tomatoes with herbs

5. italian shredded cheese

this one pot wonder turned out really well and will be finding its way into my regular rotation. i imagine it would also be good with angel hair as the base layer and some ground meat (perhaps turkey or bison) mixed in the layers.

see this little tab on my pie pan? it works wonders! just circle it around the pan and it loosens up the bottom of the pan. this helped my pasta come out easily (a little pam sprayed in the bottom didn't hurt either). if you see one of these pans, i highly recommend snatching it up. i got this one from my grandmother and it works wonders on getting a slice to come out cleanly.

for those of you die hard sweets fans, don't worry too much, another dessert is coming up. hint, it has chocolate and (wait for it) peanut butter! hooray!

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Five Layer Tortellini Pie
serves 4-6

1 cup barilla tortellini (i used cheese and spinach)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or your favorite tomato sauce)
3/4 cup shredded cheese (i used a mix of provolone, parmesan, and asiago)

preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

on a foil lined baking sheet, spread out chopped zucchini, mushrooms, and shallot. sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast for 15 minutes. reduce heat to 375 degrees F.

meanwhile, cook tortellini in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. drain. in a deep, greased pie pan, spread tortellini in even layer.

in a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, and pepper. spread mixture evenly over tortellini in pie pan. spread roasted vegetables in an even layer over cream cheese mixture. then spoon tomato sauce over roasted veggies. sprinkle evenly with shredded cheese and bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. cut into slices and serve.